Sola to Romansu Book 2: Chronicles of the Scarlet Prince
by The Storyteller and his Books
Summary: A new World, new Dangers and an objective unknown and hidden. As the first of five Trials begins, our friends find themselves stranded in a strange world full of wonders and even stranger people. While they struggle to survive, elsewhere in their own world, people have problems beyond their own capabilities, only strong bonds never to severe can direct things in their right bounds.
1. Ch 1, Restart in a new World

**空とロマンス**

**Sola to Romansu (Sky and Romance)**

**Book 2:**

**Chronicles of the Scarlet Prince**

**First Arc: Restart in a new World!**

_**Without further ado I present you the first 2 chapters of the 2**__**nd**__** Book, The chronicles of the Scarlet Prince.**_

_**The first 60 chapters will be spent in Elysia, for the characters 8 years will pass by and there is much going on in this world, good times as well as bad times, which acts as me trying a take on an Isekai (= transported or reincarnated into another world) story for once, I hope you enjoy it never-the- less.**_

_**Although it was planned to be released later after I finished Book 1, I decided, as a little Apology / Christmas Present, to publish them already now, so you see that I haven´t been lazy this entire time, I just had not much time to write, often working overtime, (as delivery man).**_

_**Chapter 1, Prologue: Elysia, Land of Dragons and Adventures**_

_**At Ragnarök, Grandma Elhize´s Pov:**_

The day had come, after a whole week of waiting, I was once again greeted by the curious eyes of my Grandchildren, however this time also Chocolat, or rather said, Princess Choco´s Grandchildren had come for a visit as well, same as their Grandmother.

"Choco, it has been so long, how are you, I hope everything is fine?" I asked with a warm smile and tears in my eyes as I gently closed my oldest and best friend, who was close to be a sister to me, into my arms.

"Oh, I am just fine Elhize, same as Cereus, ever since _**Alba (45) and his wife and Nix (30) and her Husband**_ have taken over each _**the Kingdom of Savannah and Geaya**_ instead of my husband and myself, our life has gotten a lot calmer, of course our son and daughter still often visit us in Geaya, in order to seek the advice of their Father, in political matters.

But what about you, aren´t you too lonely without Red being here, I mean there are times in which he stays at Shangri-La for weeks.

Is he still not willing to give up his post to one of the various potential Candidates?" I was asked by her, while I returned the loving hug.

"Unfortunately not, he has yet to decide…., well it is an important decision to make, both Princes, _**our Garnet (50)**_ and _**King Kamui´s son Gerado,**_ _**(50)**_ both have all the qualifications of becoming a suitable King.

However, it would also be nice if Shangri-La or Lunaris finally would gain a Queen for a change.

I am certain, that _**Our**_ _**Scarlet (63)**_ would be a valuable Leader, at least in my eyes, Red sees that the same way, but it is after all an old Tradition, that the Heir to the throne is male.

Completely outdated if you ask me." I explained and she nodded.

"Indeed, after Anastasia became Queen, after our Father died, it made a huge change to the way Valhalla had been ruled before.

There had been Queens with a more outward role before, but none of them had been taught by the Ancient Queen Panmora herself.

Back then, as _**I refused the throne**_, I knew it was the right thing to do, my Sister was the better choice, for sure.

Also, if I would have become Queen, then I would have had to leave Cereus behind and alone with his worries and all the dangers on his path back then, if I remember all the things, we encountered…., I would not have been able to bear that thought.

Even though his sister and friends were with us back then, but still.

New Valhalla has definitely gained the best leader they could have gotten with Anastasia, and once her Reign was over a new King or Queen began to rule the land, striving for the wellbeing and prosperity of the Folk, just like a true King or Queen should, now it is finally Nix´s time to Rule." I explained and she nodded.

"Anyways, I think there are some kids here who are eager to hear your stories of the past, how about you start where you ended it the last time, my grandchildren were informed by yours before, so they more or less know what happened in these times you told yours about, so just keep going, I will do my best to fill in where I can, as long as I still remember." Choco explained and I nodded.

"That would help me much, I still know a lot but unfortunately not all of what happened, and I bet they also want to ask what you guys have done during the time we were separated." I explained and She nodded.

"Most likely."

"Well then, where did I stopped the last time…, give me a second…" I mused, trying to remember.

"You wanted to tell us about what happened after you walked through the gates of Elysia for the first Cardinal Trial." Quinn stated and I nodded.

"That helps me much, thanks Quinn, well, then, here we go…!" I stated with a bright smile as I looked in these anticipating eyes, before I took a deep breath to calm my heart and began to tell them all I still remembered.

_**64 Years ago, Elysia, Plains of Rebirth, Red´s Pov:**_

Memories…., Memories are something crucial as a living being.

They help us remember what is important, they shape us, they make sure we can learn from mistakes we have previously made.

But what happens when almost anything is gone?

Nothing, for you cannot remember to ever have had something in the first place.

There is a speech that says, that you never know the value of something, until it is lost.

I have another speech for you.

If you cannot remember it…, did you then ever possess it in the first place?

As I woke up on that meadow alongside these peoples, I was at a real loss.

All I knew was the fact that I new close to nothing…, I still knew my name, and I somehow knew that the persons around me were not hostile or complete strangers and that I knew them somehow, but I had no idea where I knew them from, where I came from or how I ended up in this meadow, or even what I was doing an hour from before I awoke.

However, there was something, which might give us a clue, of what might had happened to us.

"_You who you have lost anything, you who you are stripped of the powers and knowledge you possessed, can you survive in __**a world which is not your own**__?_

_Can you reach the end of this journey, with all those around you now, can you learn to trust them, to have faith in what they can do, can you learn to love the one you once loved, or will you find a new love, will you find what you have lost, regain what is necessary for succeeding, in __**the trial of the soul?**_

_May the First of the Cardinal Trials test the value of your soul, may you, upon finding out who you are, find out what you become, once you are stripped of your identity._

_Will you stay the same you have been, or will you become a different one?_

_What will happen to you, once your memories return, are you able to face the fact, that your previous self might not be able to coexist with your new one?_

_Those are question you shall ask yourself, for you have already made the choice to participate._

_Find what is most important in this world and you will find most likely more than just one thing, treasured to you_." So it stood on the old stone slate, words carved in solid stone, maltreated by the wind and the weather throughout the centuries.

A slate which had been erected here, but most likely not casually at all, as it stood _**in the middle of a strange circle made with other large rocks**_, several rocks were stapled upon each other, forming 10 tall gates, they didn´t seem to have been fastened with anything but clay and their sheer natural carving, hooked into each other.

To be honest, the architectonical way was not the most strange detail here, for around the circle there was absolutely nothing, so it seemed at least, in the far horizon I could see a large Mountain Range and on the other side of the circle I could see something shimmering in the far back, it looked bluish and unstable…, was this water, a huge amount of water, was this what the ancient history books called the Ocean?

But how can this be up here in the sky?

"Just where the hell are we?" I asked no one in particular, as I looked around, but a silver-grey-furred young Felineko girl still answered to me.

"As much as I can get out of these carvings, it seems as though we were stripped of our memories through some kind of rule of this trial, all the things which had happened in our previous lives have either been erased, or sealed for the time being.

The phrase, `_ may the First of the Cardinal Trials test the value of your soul, may you, upon finding out who you were, also find out who you have become, once you are stripped of your identity ´,_ it can only mean that we entered some kind of major and mythical test, presumably this Cardinal Trial of the soul.

Our Memories have been stripped off of us, but they are not lost forever, otherwise it wouldn´t stand written that one of our objectives is to regain them." She explained.

Even though she did not look at all like it and even though she was as flat as a board, was I of the strong conviction, that she was a girl and far older than she looked like…, I just knew it somehow, but thinking about it made my cheek sting a little.

I wonder why?

"You think so…, well your explanation does makes sense." I stated and the others nodded.

"Following that deduction, it most likely is the case, that upon progressing in this Trial, we might regain our memories step by step, while simultaneously making new ones, and once we have regained everything, we are confronted with who we were and who we have become along the way." Another young Felineko girl, with pink hair, stated as she investigated the stone slate.

"This stone is old, and massive, it must stand here since decades…, most likely even longer, there is no indication that it was moved recently, so I doubt this is all some kind of sick joke, or hidden camera prank." Another Felineko girl with bluish hair explained as she too investigated the Stone slate.

What the three of them said made a lot of sense to me…, even as unbelievable as it all sounded.

"Well this is all nice and good…., but what now, what are we supposed to do now…, I mean I know, our objective is most likely to regain our memories…, but where are we supposed to start searching for them.

As far as I can see there is nothing around us but Grass, water and stones, no clue where to start our journey and I hope they, whoever have sent us here, don´t force us to build some kind of float to cross this ocean, just to find some other island or any other shore, right of the bat.

Any clever thoughts to that?" A blue haired Caninu Boy asked.

"I think we might find that out now, at least someone is coming our way, who looks as though he has a clue of where we are and what we are supposed to do now.

There is only the question, if he is trustworthy or not?" A tiny little silver haired Felineko boy explained to us, as he pointed forward through one of the gates.

Strange, looking at him I had not the feeling as though his age and size were mismatched, they seemed to align pretty well to me…, but his eyes spoke of a bright attitude and great wisdom, which someone of his age shouldn´t possibly possess.

Then there was still the question, what such a young boy, perhaps only 10 years old, had to do here, was it perhaps the little brother of someone here, maybe even the child of someone…, then again, as I said before, that boy had such a demeanour which was quite unusual for someone of his age, he did not cowered in fear like some of the other, neither did he seemed all too confused.

If anything, he was curious, eager to learn something new and ready for anything to come, also was he not the only youngster here.

Though there was also another thing which was strange here, which seemed to be highly unusual and which took my mind of this little unusual Felineko boy for a moment.

The background view inside of the gate, which he pointed at, did not match at all with the background behind the rest of the gates.

It sure was a plain, similar to which we stood upon, but while it looked like the world within and outside of the Stone circle was close to dawn, with the moon still up and a light fog rising from the ground.

The view within the gate, on the other hand, spoke of early noon on a bright clear day, also, a light breeze blew from out of the gate, while the grass around the same did not moved in the slightest.

As if the world we momentarily were in, was caught in_** a chrono-stasis**_, ripped out of time, unable to progress.

Even the grass I stood upon, did not moved, even when I put more pressure on it, as if I stood upon a huge air-thin and crystal-clear glass-floor, with grass underneath.

The man which the young boy had seen, was coming closer before he stood right infront of the gate on his side.

Smiling at us, he saluted.

"Greetings to you, you _**young Wanderers**_, it is nice to see that you have arrived well in our World, I have felt your arrival and promptly made my way up here.

Welcome to Elysia, the world of the Ancient Times, my name is _**Ephilias Enra**_ and I will be _**your guide**_ through your first days, my Mission is to serve as a Guide for you, until you have accustomed yourself to this world.

From then on you might sometimes find me along the way of your journey to help you out with informations, as far as I find something out myself, depending on wherever our meetings might be.

But beware of one thing, and this is very important so listen well, all of you!" Ephilias, a tall white-scaled Lizard-like being, spoke to us, looking at each one of us with electric blue eyes.

As far as my memory reached, his race was called a Repturui, at least I think so.

He wore armour on his arms and around one leg, around his chest and waist, the rest was covered by simple cloth made out of beige jeans, his face was partially covered by a black hood, but he did have a friendly appearance, however the glance he gave us was one of serious warning.

"Before you entered the Trial, it was told to you that you can die in here, as you would do so in every world.

Dying here is however divided in _2 different categories_.

As this is another world than the one you come from, your major goal is to get back to your world, as well as to regain all of your memories by regaining _**the artefacts they are stored inside**_, artefacts which you once possessed but _**have been stolen from you**_.

Also, you have to gain _**the treasure you came for**_, the one you had decided was worth the risks of participating, whatever this is to you.

However, it also can happen that people never get to find their way out or regain all of their memories and, in the end, they live and die of high age in this world, means that they have completely vanished from the world they came from, ergo, they died twice in a way.

The other possibility of dying in this trial, is literally dying here, be it in battle or due to sickness and health-problems, if you die in this world you also die in the other world.

It might sound the same to you, but dying in a world you call your home, is different as to die in a world you live in, but know it is not your own home.

If you die without memories from the world you originated from, you cannot ever say that you ever lived in that other world, or that this other world even existed in the first place, you begin to call home, to that what you know, never knowing anything different.

If you however die, while having regained either some or all of your memories, you know that you have died twice, once in this world and to all you have met in here, and once in the world you originated from, leaving behind all those who eagerly awaited your return from the Trial.

Do you understand that?" Ephilias asked and I nodded, it was hard at first but the more he explained, the more I understood what he meant.

I have most likely a family and friends in the world I came from, which await my return someday, but as I am here without memories of them, I cannot ever tell if there is indeed someone waiting for me.

Dying without clear knowledge about something like that, can only leave regret.

"Always keep in mind, someone might await your return, so try to stay alive at all cost." Ephilias stated.

"Are you ready?" He asked, looking at one each of us.

I looked around not sure what to say, even if I said that I wasn´t ready, could I be sure to be returned to the world I came from…, hardly I would say…, regarding how much has been done, to bring me here in the first place.

What if I was later on brought away, into a world I did not come from without me recognizing…, that I entered this trial well knowing of the consequence of death in those two different ways, must mean that my original self was determined to participate in this trial, for a good reason…, a reason worth all the hardships to come.

"I am ready." I stated in unison with the Grey furred Felineko girl next to me.

"I´m too" A Felineko Girl with blonde and dark hair stated next to a Young Caninu man with Brown hair.

"Me too, I don´t know what might come, but I am ready." The voice of a Teenage Caninu Boy with red hair stated, next to a Caninu Girl with dark pink hair which nodded as well, they looked a little similar from the face…, maybe they were siblings in the other world.

The young Felineko boy with the silver hair from before, who stood close to me and the grey furred Felineko girl, nodded as well.

They too looked like siblings.

After nearly 10 minutes everybody, more or less willing than forced, gave their accord to start our journey into the unknown.

"Very well, then let´s go, enter the gate and a new life will await you…, will you be able to find your own in here, or will you remodel yourself from anew?

The time has come, let the Trial of the Soul begin!" Ephilias stated, bowing skilfully before us, as we all walked through.

As the last of us, a Blue furred tall Caninu, who looked older than all of us, walked through the gate, the same vanished and behind it was just the continuation of the meadow we saw now before us.

Quite a way afar from this place, I would see some smoke rising in the back, if I squinted my eyes, I could barely make out some houses.

"These smoke-cones over there are coming from _**a town called**_ _**Altera Vita**_, also known as _**the Town of the new Beginning**_.

As I said before, you are by far not the first ones from another world to enter.

This world is originally a world created by the souls and the Memories of thousands of my folk.

Memories of a Land and Continent we once lived upon, millennia ago, but which has been lost in your world since ancient times, long before you were born.

Through magic and our memories we were able to reconstruct our home almost 1:1, but there are some things which happen without the influence of us, circumstances changing from time to time, so don´t hold anything against us if you end up in some kind of prickly situation.

At first only my folk lived here, but with the time more and more people were sent here on their journey to find themselves and absolve the trial of the soul.

So many, that it soon became inhabited with many different races from all those who entered the trial, well knowing they might never return to their own world.

As there is hardly ever someone coming alone in here, creating offspring isn´t really an issue and over short or long real communities of a vast number of different races have come to coexist in this world.

Altera Vita is a town of many different Races living together in peace, it is not only the first town on your journey but also a flourishing commercial town.

There are also Kingdoms in which one race has the majority of citizens but they are also quite open to other races of course, we currently have 7 kingdoms on this continent who regularly interact with each other in some form.

However, as in every world is also our world not without conflict here and there, but it is often resolved in but a few hours, days or weeks, of course bloodshed exists in this world, as well, and as I told you before, also the concept of life and death, however, at least we never had a large-scale war in all this time ever since this world existed.

_**The Overseer**_ will not allow such a thing to ever emerge from anew….., _**the last big war**_ costed our folk far too much, it plunged the whole world into absolute chaos and my folk had to flee from the other folks, secluding our presence from all eyes in order for the few of us to survive.

The Place you have seen before entering _**the gate of the Trial**_, was the true Elysia, the last remains of our lost civilization in your world.

I too am but the figment of the Memory of someone who must have lived thousands of years ago, a memory, uphold by _**the Ancient Magical Laws of this world**_.

I have no idea how old I am, but does that mean that I am in reality still alive or not…., at least I feel alive myself right now, I think that must do.

Anyways, let us go to the town and find a place to stay for now, so that I can tell you the most fundamental rules of this world, shall we?

During the course of your journey, you might visit this place here_**, the Plains of Rebirth and the World Gates, **_more often.

Why that is so, you will have to find out for yourselves." Ephilias explained before he gestured us to follow him.

Not sure what else to do and unable to tell if he was really trustful or not, we simply followed him.

By all we knew, he could also lie the blue of the heaven down to us, while leading us into a trap to strip us of everything we had…., which then again was not much to begin with.

We all wore simple clothes, a little leather purse with some strange hexagonal pieces of gold, silver and copper inside, most likely the currency of this world.

The copper one was a single hexagon with a paw-symbol in its middle, the silver one was made of two Hexagons forged together, the gold one was made of three Hexagons.

On our way to the Town, on a carriage, Ephilias explained to us that the copper one was called a _**Copper Hex**_, the silver one a _**Silver Cluster**_ and the golden ones were called _**Gold Combs**_.

100 Copper Hex made 1 Silver Cluster and 10 Silver Clusters made 1 Gold Comb.

Most things were purchasable with under 100 Copper Hexs, but more specific or valuable wares such as weapons or healing potions and herbs, as well as rare cooking ingredients could easily cost up to 5 Silver Clusters.

A fully equipped 1 family house, with every tax paid up to 1 year in advance, cost 500 Gold Combs, means 500.000 Copper Hex.

On the other hand, a night in a Tavern, with Dinner and Breakfast included, costed in most parts of this continent only 2 Silver Clusters.

A normal Job is paid with 10 Copper Hex an Hour, means you earn 80 Copper Hex per day with an 8 hours job, 2 people together could therefore earn 1 Silver Cluster and 60 Copper Hex a day.

3.125 days, means almost 9 years of working without spending any money, could enable you to buy yourself a house this way.

We also learned that the time flowed different in this world, while we could be years in this place outside in our old world maybe only a few months could pass, however this also could be vise versa, as this was a world which changed greatly with every entrance made into it, that flow was inconstant and ever-changing.

The Trial of the Soul was a scary trial due to its execution itself.

At least now we were a little, and if only a little, prepared for the dangers which would soon come.

We all had each a weapon at hand, even the children, I awoke with _**a scarlet-red sword**_ at my side.

The grey-furred Felineko Girl possessed an _**ivory white Bow with some diamonds embedded inside**_, but there were no arrows,however the Bow alone looked durable and might be good enough to be used to smash the skull of everyone, who tried to do something to her.

But if push came to shove, I would just defend her…., something just told me that it was the right thing to do and that she would appreciate it…, it was strange, maybe I knew her from my former life, better than now at least.

Still the bow she possessed looked also kind of impressive in its own right, as if it was in no need of _**a physical arrow**_, there was something behind it, that much was sure.

The little Felineko boy at our side possessed a simple but still dangerously sharp dagger, which he properly attached to his belt, as if he knew exactly how dangerous this thing was.

There were several others who wielded swords like me, most of them were males and one each of them were Caninus, only one Girl, the girl with the light-pink hair, wielded a claymore, but it still looked as if made for her.

She tested a few slices and stings and I had to admit that she had real talent.

She herself was most likely one of those types to put the skill of any soldier or knight, who ever said that women were too weak to fight, to shame.

The gold-blonde Caninu-Girl to her right wielded a sharp Rapier for fencing.

Myself included were it _**7 adult wielders of Swords**_, still, technically seen it were 12, as there was a pair of Felinekos, an adult boy and those two adult girls, a Kumear-girl, as well as a Young red-haired Felidion, which also wielded some kind of swords.

However their swords looked simple, like any other sword would look like, there was also _**a certain feeling of incompleteness**_ when looking at the 6 boys and the girl and their swords..., as if something was missing.

Upon asking them, both the silver-furred Boy and the older girl who stood closest to me told me their names, same as I would tell them mine.

If we were stuck in here together, we might as well get along, I guess.

The girl introduced herself as Elhize Melizee, preferably simply called Elh, the boy called himself Animarios Ragdoll, mostly called Anima.

"Red W. Savarin is my name, nice to make your acquaintance, Elh and Anima." I replied upon their introduction.

From the chattering of the other groups I remembered their names as well.

Cereus Melizera, a Felidion boy and Choco G. Garontrias, a Polar-Kumear girl with an unusual hair-colour, both a little younger than myself.

Next to her was another Polar-Kumear girl, with dark green hair and purple eyes, she was called Anastasia G. Garontrias, most likely the older Sister of Choco.

The next pair consisted out of Gren Sacher, a young, blue furred Caninu man and Stare Prisalia, a blue haired young Felineko woman.

Waffle Ryebread and Alicia Prisalia were the names of the two persons, who decided themselves for the Trial after Elh and myself did, Alicia seemed to be the older sister of Stare.

Cyan Garland was the one who asked what to do earlier, before Ephilias appeared, next to him stood that Blonde Caninu-girl with the Rapier, called Terria Hound.

The Girl with the light-pink hair and the Claymore, introduced herself as Parmesan C. Peach, she stood next to a Felineko girl with long green hair, just as old as her, she called herself _**Suzette Tinkerer**_, the same had some kind of improvised crossbow strapped on her back.

The tall man, who seemed the oldest among our group, called himself Greyhound Canine, the two teenagers _**on his side**_ called themselves Mamoru and Matoi Inukyūjo.

As soon as they said their name it was as if they recognized something, it was not simple acknowledging that they possessed the same surname, no it was really as if one part of their memory returned.

They were indeed siblings, the same happened with the other 2 sword-wielding children, they were the Kodomoryu siblings, Monja and Nyanja.

Next to them were the Siblings, Alpharia and Betakin Million.

The last one, in our group of many, was the Panda-Kumear girl, Ruomei Gongmeng, 18 Years old, a built, both feminine and alluring but also steeled through battles as well.

So we had a lot of 10 Caninus and 7 Felinekos, 1 Felidion, 3 Kumears and with myself, 1 Lupycan.

10 Boys and 12 girls, 22 people at all.

Adding the local, Ephilias to the group as a Repturui, we had quite a motley crew together, I just hoped that we all would get along with each other, since we were in this world as ignorant as a new-born, would it be bad to instantly break in a fight with each other.

Things surely were about to get strange from here on out, but we had to get through this.

Whatever the main-goal was, we all had chosen to absolve this trial out of a certain reason, now we had to get through it and find that reason, in order to succeed.

As Ephilias rightly said before…

"Let the Trial begin."

_**To be continued….**_

_**A/N: Hello and welcome to another Book of Sola to Romansu, first off I wanted to apologize that the last year, so less new chapters of the first book had been written, though I was also busy with the side stories to the same and the first few chapters of Book 2.**_

_**The main reason however, were IRL-problems, important things I had to do throughout the entire year which claimed most of my focus and left me with little time to write, but I assure you that for the time being I am back in action big time, I hope for your understanding.**_

_**I wanted to thank you for all of your support throughout the last 5 years of my first book, whose first draft was written in 2014.**_

_**Even if I had stopped for quite some time in between the first draft and the later remodelling of the story in the last two years.**_

_**It has been a long ride and the same is not even halfway done, so I hope you enjoy reading another 100+ Chapters of adventures, Romance, Drama and Comfort.**_

_**A couple of tales about friendship, trust, loyalty and Leadership.**_

_**Don´t forget to review and recommend.**_

_**A great thank you in advance, sincerely yours truly, the Storyteller and his books.**_

_**Update 21.07.2020: **_

_**Changed from Sunako to Ruomei, as i found that the same has a lot more reason to come along.**_

_** What that reason is you can read in my Side story Valhalla Rising, as well as some of the last Chapters of Book 1, at whose 93rd Chapter i am currently working (almost done with it).**_


	2. Ch 2, A Loss is not the end

**空とロマンス**

**Sola to Romansu (Sky and Romance)**

**Book 2:**

**Chronicles of the Scarlet Prince**

_**Chapter 2: A loss is not the End!**_

_**Starlight-Dragon Tavern, Altera Vita, Alicia´s Pov:**_

A loss was not the end of everything, that much I knew…, but losing all memories, the own self…., for some it may look like a chance for a fresh start.

A chance to explore the world in a way you yourself see fit.

I don´t know what I did in my former life, at least not yet, however I somehow felt myself so light all of a sudden, as if a huge burden and responsibility was lifted off of my shoulders, however there was something remaining, some feeling of deep lingering regret.

I was not sure what I had done in my former life, but it had to be something so awful which happened to me, which would force me to harbour such a sad feeling within myself.

I hope I find out what it was, so I can solve this problem.

For now, I should just try to get a good start in this new life here.

The travel from the Plains of Rebirth to Altera Vita was a lot longer than any of us had anticipated, we needed almost the entire afternoon to arrive, just to cross the vast plains, which led towards a large forest, over a large bridge which led over a large river, apparently the natural border between two Lands.

Somehow everything seemed to be so much larger than what I was used to, maybe because the Islands back home, as big as they were, still seemed a little cramped, compared to this place.

I could not even see the Cloud-sea anywhere.

It was not true knowing but I had a feeling, a certain image in my mind, of an Archipelago of several bigger and tinier Islands, some inhabited, others quite secluded…, I didn´t know the Name of that Archipelago, nor where it was located in our old world, but I just thought it might be my home somehow.

The strange thing was that no one else seemed to remember the place they came from.

Ephilias thought that something within me might have intervened, with letting that memory being taken as well, some kind of autonomous safeguard system within my mind, which had to be stronger than the rest of me.

Maybe it was that lingering feeling I have, this regret, which prevents me from entirely forgetting this place, which I must have once called my home, as if it forces me, even now, to make amends for whatever happened to me before.

As I was still unable to know what exactly it was, I decided to shove it in a shelf of my mind for now, I had better things to be occupied with right now.

As the place we had been, at the summit of a large mountain, our travel was not made on foot, but on a large cart, pulled by huge Cowboars, which Ephilias led in the right direction.

During the ride, the landscape changed ever so suddenly, when before all I was able to see were stones and meadows here and there, the next moment we drove through a rich green forest, the river we crossed, reflected the summer-sky with the most sparkling colour I had ever seen, this water was crystal-clear, as we, after making a rest nearby, found out.

The fruits and nuts which wildly grew in the forest were extremely delicious and I got the feeling that it might be easy to survive from that alone, if I were to live in this forest.

Ephilias however reminded me of the fact, that although this place seemed calm, ferocious beasts were likely to appear, it was not uncommon that caravans of traveling merchants were attacked in forests and on open meadows, when they were resting or even when they settle down for the night.

He showed us many scars from such attacks, which he had the misfortune to be caught in.

This testimony made me forget my thought from earlier instantly.

Our travel ended infront of a huge gate, where we had to wait in a row of merchant carts, until we were let inside of the town, which was surrounded by a huge stone wall with many towers.

It was all quite mediaeval if I may say so, I just had the feeling that I myself came from a far more technolized place somehow, but I wasn´t the only one in that, all of the others all looked with the same fascination as myself.

As we were finally able to get inside the town, evening had already come and I had to say that I never saw a sundown so beautiful than in this place, it had a certain mood to itself, not to mention the starlit sky out here was really a sight to behold as well.

We had the chance to arrive on a cloudless night, which made the sky look like a dark lit cavern full of gems.

Ephilias led us to a nearby tavern, where he often brought new visitors of this world or which he frequented on his days off from his work as Informant and guide, the Innkeeper was an old acquaintance of him, so his words.

In here you got food and drinks, there was much laughter and talking, it was the number one gossip kitchen of the town, if some secret was brought in here, the whole town knew it the other day, kinda pitiful if you ask me, after all there are some secrets not to be told to anyone, especially if you deeply regret it later on if they ever get out.

This World was wonderous, so much I could tell from the first look, but it also harboured something different, the chance to live life as we see fit, unbound by the responsibilities we might had have before…, then again, if we were never to return to our own world, wouldn´t that mean that we would leave others suffering, who await our return, it is as Ephilias said, dying in here means dying twice…

As I sat together with the other girls, next to the Girl with Blonde hair, Terria, and the younger girl with light Pink Hair, Parmesan, I came to the conclusion that I had to search for the answer to my questions myself, whether I wanted or not, just like all of us eventually had to.

I could not live in a new world and start a new life, without solving the mystery behind my regret from the old one, that much was clear to me, and it bound me with an all-mighty feeling of unease upon all the beauty I had seen today, if I wanted to somehow enjoy my days in here, I had to solve my regret first…

At least one memory of my old life remained to me, other to the slight assumption of my home…., well it was not truly a memory, but merely another assumption based on an undeniable evidence, and yet…., how in the world should I approach this problem?

"_So, have you told him already, I mean you guys sat so close to each other in the cart_?" I was asked by Elhize Melizee or simply Elh, as she preferred to be called, in a hushed voice.

"_No, of course not, we only sat close because it was so cramped in the cart…, and anyways, I just cannot seem to find the words to start that kind of conversation with him._

_I mean before I can crash such a reality upon him, it is obvious that we first have to get a fresh start in this world._

_Also…., I can´t get over the fact that whatever we had to do here, was so important that we deliberately went to a place where we nearly forgot anything._

_Judging from this ring, our life must have been a happy one, so what was so important to us, that we gave it all up, to obtain whatever is to obtain in this place_?" I replied unsure and a little lost.

The talk was all about the ring on my finger, a gorgeous silver ring with a sapphire and diamonds embedded into it.

It was without a doubt a precious and most likely priceless engagement Ring.

A ring I had woken up with at the Gates and which seemed familiar to me, I was not sure about it, but I highly believed it to be my ring, a ring meant to be worn by me.

However, there was no memory returning to me so it was none of the Artefacts which Ephilias had talked about.

But the detail that frustrated me greatly, was the name written in the inner side of it.

"_Without a doubt…., there stands indeed `Ryebread´_." Parmesan Peach, the young girl with light pink hair, mumbled as she inspected the ring herself.

"_I know and I bet it is that Boy on the other table, I mean look at him, he is a real hottie, without a doubt…, but how am I supposed to ask him._

_I can´t just go over to him and go like, `hey boy, I just met you and I know this is crazy, but this Ring has your name on it, so marry me maybe´_?" I stated my face hidden in my palms, blushing furiously from shame, of such a lame imagination, as well as the whole situation at all.

They nodded, knowing that such a thing was impossible to do, for any sane women with at least a shred of dignity.

"_That sure would sound awkward_." Elh nodded, as she put a comforting hand on mine.

"_Still, eventually you will have to tell him_." Parmesan stated as she returned the ring and I nodded.

"_I know…., but I wonder, we were stripped of our memories for some reason, so why did I wear this ring then…., wouldn´t that give away too much information right at the start_?" I asked myself.

"Maybe _**you somehow**_ _**smuggled it inside**_, especially because you did not want to lose that memory of him.

That he hasn´t yet recognized it is though strange…, Or it is not one of those artefacts Ephilias told us from…., after all we have no idea how they even look like…., can it be that with Artefacts to regain, they actually mean items which we once possessed and which we have a strong emotional bond with?

If that assumption is true, it will get hard to find them as they indeed could be anything to us, also it must not necessarily mean, that the same artefact holds memories for two persons.

However, judging from that viewpoint, I then doubt that this ring would not be meant with it, after all…, what is more emotional than an engagement Ring?" Elhize stated in thought.

"Maybe it is just not an artefact to you, but to that man, just like Elh has said." Parmesan mused.

"That might be the case, however, it then becomes even harder to casually let him have this ring, for a while, without it seeming suspicious…, but if it is an artefact, it is essential for him to remember his past.

It is as Ephilias explained, if you never find your way out of here or regain your memories, you could be forced to live a whole lifetime in here.

Those on the other side would wait for you without ever getting to see you again, while you live life to the fullest here, without ever clearly knowing that someone is waiting for you and grieving about your absence.

That fact is beyond cruel of whoever has created this trial, just saying." Terria stated, as she arrived with Ruomei Gongmeng and Matoi Inukyūjo in tow, bringing the Glasses with our drinks.

She didn´t thought, that it was necessary to whisper, as the Tavern slowly so slowly became fuller with life and thus quite noisier.

We girls and boys had decided to get to know each other a little, so the boys sat on one table chatting, about the few things we have learned by now, while we sat on another one, a little apart from them, holding Girl´s talk.

"It sure is, but it is as you have said, whatever the reason was we entered this place, it must have been beyond important for us, to endure such hardships as to lose our own self deliberately.

I mean it just adds up, 10 Boys, 11 girls, perfect for creating 5 couples, well expect one likes Little boys and some of us are either lesbian or bisexual…., It is though strange, I still cannot understand how anyone could let a Child participate….

Do you think he is the child of one of us…, or perhaps a little brother?" Alpharia Million, the girl with rust-brown hair and a tuft of white hair on top, asked us.

"I´ve been wondering about that myself, it is beyond obvious that we look alike and might somehow be connected…., so I guess he might be my little brother, even though we possess different family names.…, still for such a little boy he sure seems wise, almost too wise, I wonder why?" Elh replied, as she glanced over towards Animarios Ragdoll, who happily chatted with Red W. Savarin and Waffle Ryebread.

Though she said that, there was a certain wisdom in Elh´s glance as well, which seemed unusual for someone of her age.

While I looked at the boys table, my glance rested on Waffle a little longer than it should have, and as he looked my way, he greeted me with a wave and with a smile.

I quickly looked away blushing deep red, but regretted it instantly, what if he found me rude because of me turning away, I mean he just tried to be friendly, right?

Hundreds of thoughts raced through my mind in that very second, making me blush more and more, which in return made me oblivious, that I had been observed in my shyness from earlier.

"Atta girl, you are already head over heels, aren´t you?" Terria teased me.

"Well he is a hottie, there you sure are right…., but Cyan Garland is also quite a looker if I may say so…, he just strikes me as a brave man, like a Knight in shining armour." She stated, as she looked at the man blushing, without hiding her interest in him at all, even going as far as to licking her lips, as she send fiery and amorous glances over to the same, who did noticed them and seemed to even go as far as to send some back, winking at her.

"Yeah that definitely could become something between us, not only does he look strong and good looking but he has some serious skills…., remember when he and that other guy sparred, damn, all those muscles, well-toned legs, a tasty butt and a smile which just steals your heart.

I admit that aroused me quite a bit, it might have made me a little wet too…., but I´m not an easy woman, who goes and hooks up with the first guy she gushes over.

I will just wait to let him win me over somehow, but one thing is for sure, I will not make it easy to him.

You should do the same, if you go onto him directly, he might think you are a loose woman…, you need to show him what you are worth, that he has to fight if he intends to get you." Terria stated and I was in awe, she really seemed to be a girl who knew exactly what she wanted.

Brave, seductive and on top of it quite the bombshell, I bet the boys in her old life were lying at her feet, lining up for a date with her.

On the other hand, I could not say that I wasn't as seductive as her, at least my body seemed to please the male eyes, all what hindered me was my own insecurity.

Could it be that I was maybe a lot braver in the world I came from, if Waffle and I were in a relationship, which of us was the more aggressive part?

"Hey do you even listen to me Alicia, this is important you have to capture and secure his interest and infatuation, unless you want him to be stolen by someone." Terria stated as she grabbed my cheeks and pulled on them, making me look at her.

"S-sure…., but I mean I barely know anyone of them, let alone him, what if we could not stand each other in the world we came from?" I asked and she sighed but thought about it nevertheless.

"A rightful question indeed, but I doubt that to be the case, I mean there is the ring after all…, if it wasn´t meant for you, then why did you possessed it in the first place, unless…., nah, can´t imagine you doing something like that…

Then again, looks sure can be deceiving sometimes…., and also, if we indeed did not get along with each other, why would we have decided to participate at the same time.

I doubt this is some kind of Magical Game show, for the Amusement of someone powerful, where we are to struggle until we find the big treasure, maybe even falling in love with each other, only to at the end of the game get to know, that we originally have all been bloody rivals, fighting for the price in an earlier stage of the tournament, going as far as to kill each other.

That would be entirely awful, don´t you think so?" Matoi asked and we nodded.

"That indeed sounds evil, let´s just hope that such a kind of vision does not become true." Nyanja muttered unsure.

Poor girl was the one with the most problems here, as she had no idea how to behave around her apparent Brother Monja, same as he had no clue how to handle that situation either.

I can't say that I felt any different in regards to Stare, my apparent sister.

On top of that they were but teenagers, barely adult, in another world, so far from home, same as the Inukyūjo twins.

"Well as long as we stay out of the romantic pursuit of each other, I don´t mind becoming friends with you all in the slightest, so for the record, I go for Cyan Garland, anyone trying to do the same?" Terria asked, but none of us said yes or nodded.

"Well I like him, he seems reliable…, but I won´t say that I am in any way infatuated with him like you are." Parmesan explained.

"Very well, I can live with that…, there you have it…., still, I think we have much better things to worry for now, than romance in general.

I mean the rules of this …, game…, have been made clear to us, what we need now is to know where to start and act upon them.

We have money but I doubt we will be able to live all too long with what we have, if we decide to keep living in a tavern for a while.

I am sure that we sooner or later have to get us all a Job." Terria explained and we nodded with murmurings to ourselves.

What did I do before all this, had I a decent job, or was I perhaps already a housewife…., was I perhaps waiting for a child to arrive, could it be that I was Pregnant…, by Waffle Ryebread´s Child?

I caught myself glancing over to him once again, with a fire-red blush just thinking about it.

"_I wonder what he thinks about me_?" I thought to myself as I took a sip of the sweet rose-coloured drink I had ordered, apparently it was called Cassis-water, strange name…, but tasty nevertheless.

The ring rested on my finger again, waiting to fulfill its purpose, whatever it was.

_**Meanwhile at the Boy´s table, Waffle´s Pov:**_

A whole new world to explore, different Jobs to do, maybe entering a guild, becoming a Merchant, a Knight, a Town-Guard, a herbalist, an alchemist or even a Bodyguard for a politician or Duke.

There were so many different ways to live your life in Elysia, from legal to barely legal…, and I am sure some before us even decided to live a lawless life.

It all sounded too fantastic to be true, but I knew that it was my reality, at least for now.

Still, regarding the sword I possessed, it might mean that I am destined to become a Swordsman either way, at least my body did not forgot, how to fight with a sword, as it seemed.

The little sparring with Red and Cyan earlier today, was enough to tell me that.

I suddenly got such a clear mind when my life was in danger, which must mean that I had fought in battles before and knew my way around.

Maybe I even fought in a war, without knowing.

Still if that was all there was to me, I doubt that I would come far in this world, as it was most likely not only composed out of battling ferocious beasts and strong enemies, from what I heard the people in this town valued peace and freedom as well as prosperity over anything.

And then there was still the objective of finding the way out of this world, and regaining whatever I had forgotten.

Ephilias informations so far were very helpful.

The only thing that remained was to find just one hint where to even start our journey.

"One thing is for sure, before we can start anything, let alone a proper life in this place, we will need to get us a job and that pronto." Red explained and I nodded.

"He sure is right, I mean our money won´t last forever if we decide to stay in this tavern for longer.

As we know buying a House is nearly impossible for us right now…., it would last almost a decade of working alone, to get one, of course depending on how much we are paid for which job.

The easiest way to make money would be by becoming _**a Mercenary or a Beast-Hunter**_, but those are most likely two of the most difficult, most dangerous and sometimes gruesome and nasty jobs there are." I replied, as I remembered what I had heard from Ephilias as I asked him about _**job-classes**_.

Mercenaries were sometimes soldiers and jack-of-all-trades and sometimes even assassins.

Beast-Hunters were called when beasts and other fiend creatures posed a threat to the life of the people of villages and towns nearby.

They were also often asked for providing protection for traveling merchants, exterminating fiendish beasts wherever they showed up.

"It most likely would be that way, but still…., with our _**sword skills**_ it would not be impossible, I guess." Cyan explained.

"Yeah, maybe you are right, Beast-hunters would be a favourable job to take, but remember what Ephilias warned us about, even the weakest of such creatures can use _**elemental skills**_, we must prepare ourselves for any individualities, if we are not able to defend ourselves against that, we might die an early death." Mamoru explained and I nodded, he sure was attentive for his age.

"Not to mention that there does exist crime in this world, if we are getting ambushed by stronger enemies, we too could die and be stripped of everything we have.

I think before we venture outside of town, we should get ourselves some experience and equipment beforehand, like healing potions, or learn some _**healing arts**_, something that helps our party survive any situation we might be caught in, remember Ephilias scars, those beasts are surely no cuddly and cute little creatures, some are even as tall as a full grown man…, or almost as big as an entire house.

We need to determine our skills, the skills of the girls, train them to a certain degree and then decide which role in a battle we will take, should one occur…, otherwise all of our skills and abilities go to waste, if none of us can effectively use them." Animarios stated with a wise voice.

Despite his tiny young figure, he was a bundle of wisdom about many things, even though he, same as we, could not remember his past life.

It made me wonder why this child had decided to enter this world in the first place, but I was already glad to have him with us, same as Red who had already decided to take the small child under his wings, out of whatever reason.

At least Animarios seemed to be content with that.

"One thing is for sure and there Animarios is right, we need to get aware of our skills, so that we, in times of need can effectively defend the girls, we can't just go out of town and expose them to any danger that might come our way.

As I was near the counter, I overheard some guys talking, that there were lately some attacks of _**high-ranking beasts,**_ on the roads and in places where usually only _**low-ranking beasts**_ appeared, if we would encounter such a beast in our current level of skill, we would die an unnecessary death.

Of course, there is always the possibility that the town is getting attacked by a bunch of such a high-ranking beast, but fortunately the Town has a strong defense.

Still, the soldiers of the other Kingdoms around us, have a far stronger and far more advanced defense than this town, I heard that some kingdoms even possess high-advanced War-machinery, like robots." Cyan explained and we nodded

"It is as Ephilias explained, this town is mostly a commercial town, originally created by _**the Wanderers, people**_ _**like us**_, on the border of two lands.

This town may have a Mayor and a governing organ, but the defense is mostly consisting of residential Mercenaries and exiled Knights from different lands, as well as those Wanderers, who have decided to train at _**the Knight School**_ here in town.

By the way, I advise that we should visit the school as well, it can only prove to become an asset to our momentary skills.

I have heard that the tuition fee is not that high and you still get a proper education there." Red advised and we nodded.

"You sure are right there, Red!" Mamoru stated, as he glanced at his own sword, which was small and shorter, compared to the other swords we possessed, it was more like a longer dagger, however it was extremely sharp and light, able to slice with it like cutting air.

"Then all we have to do is to discuss the issue with the girls, the way I see it, it would be good for each of us to take at least one of them under our wings, to protect them until they have accustomed themselves to this world.

Maybe they refuse, but it is better than the alternative of running headfirst into danger, of course we will have to discuss it with them as well." Red explained and I could only nod to this comment.

"It sure is a noble thought, but what if the girls cannot stand you because of that?" Animarios asked, calmly sipping on his tea.

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

"Well how would you like it, if suddenly a bunch of strangers just decide that they keep a watch over you, wherever you go…, expect to private rooms….

Personally, I think of course that the idea in itself is not a bad thing, everyone wants to have someone defending them in times of danger, but before we can decide things over their heads, we will need to properly get to know them, a whole lot better than we are doing now, for them to even trust us, before even suggesting something like that.

To be honest, the only one who might have the best chances right now to get together with them in some way, is without a doubt myself." Animarios replied and I could understand why he would say something like that.

Most Young women like little kids who seem to be innocent and need protection, its when their mother instinct kick into high gear.

"_Dammit, I hate to admit it, but the little shrimp is right_." I heard Cyan mumbling, still loud enough for Animarios to hear it, leaving him fuming with anger.

"Don´t call me that, minus 10 trust-points." Animarios stated aloud with narrowed eyes.

"S-sorry, it wasn´t my intention of mocking you or hurting you." Cyan stated in embarrassment.

"Instant apology, current trust restored, lucky you." Animarios stated with a smug smile, while I chuckled about their comedic behaviour.

While I let this whole conversation sink in, I took a look through the tavern which had filled up with locals in the last hour.

After a while my glance drifted over to the girl´s table, only to see that the young woman with the blonde and black hair and the beautiful blue eyes glanced back, our eyes met for a brief moment, but she quickly looked away blushing as red as her red clothes, which definitely accentuated her female charms.

I admit, I felt a sudden push in my pants.

Alicia Pris was without a doubt a gorgeous woman, her beauty a sight to behold, but even more I liked her personality, calm, docile but yet I was able to detect the spunk in her, she surely could be feisty if she intended to be.

"Well I think we might as well talk with the girls later, but I guess now is not the right time for that." Red stated as he nodded over to the stage of the Tavern, as _**a quite**_ _**beautiful Kumear-woman**_ appeared, accompanied by some musicians.

"I´ve heard that occasionally some musicians come to town and have a gig in here, this tavern is quite famous for that…., lucky for us tonight was such a day." Greyhound, the oldest of our group, stated as he glanced over to the main singer, who winked at him with a seductive smile, making him blush.

"_Hello my dear guests of the Starlight-Dragon Tavern, it is nice to have you all here tonight, my name is __**Jipsy**__ and I am here to entertain you, so feel free to relax, order another drink if you like, and listen to my voice, as I sing of heroic legends and recent tales._

_The first Song is dedicated to the new Wanderers which have arrived, may your Journey be filled with many experiences to see, but always remember, even bad times sometimes have their merit, you just have to find it._

_Enjoy and rejoice, this song is called `Onwards we go_´." The woman stated as she toasted in our direction and to the girls, before the musicians at her side began to play.

_**(Original: Kokia- For little Tail.)**_

"_I float in the sky, riding the clouds._

_I'm going on a journey with no end in sight._

_Becoming the swaying breeze, on a night with a sleeping moon,_

_becoming the twinkling stars, I watch over you._

_Under a curtain of stars, in the midst of silence, it will begin._

_A journey to chase the past, that slipped away._

_Onwards we go! Surpassing time._

_Onwards we go! Burning bright._

_To the faraway horizon._

_Onwards we go! Surpassing time._

_Onwards we go! Burning bright._

_Flaring up now, like that morning sun._

_Like the birds above the hill,_

_I'm going on a journey to spread my wings._

_Becoming the swaying breeze, on a night with a sleeping moon,_

_becoming the twinkling stars, I watch over you._

_Under a curtain of clouds, in the midst of rising winds, it will begin._

_A journey to chase the dreams that slipped away._

_Onwards we go! Surpassing time._

_Onwards we go! Burning bright._

_To the faraway horizon._

_Onwards we go! Surpassing time._

_Onwards we go! Burning bright._

_Flaring up now, like that morning sun."_

It was a wonderful song and where it came from many more followed, the evening was passing in a cheerful atmosphere.

After a couple of songs some of the girls came over, while some of us boys migrated over to the Girl´s table, Alicia Prisalia stayed at her place and I too was too shy to walk over to her, even if I found myself attracted to her, somehow, but every now and then I caught her how she stole small peeks at us.

Overall it was a nice start into a new life.

Not too hard but also not too light, a start fitting for such a new world, yet still, I wonder what was going to happen to us from now on.

.

.

.

It was quite late at night, as we all made our way into our rooms, we boys shared two rooms under each other, I slept in one with Red, Cyan, Mamoru, Betakin and Animarios.

I wasn´t able to fall asleep even though I felt quite tired, although we did not do much all day.

Instead of lying in my bed, like the other boys, I stood up and walked outside of the room, towards the balcony.

"_This world is different than the one I came from…, I don´t know much or what has changed here, as I hold no memories of my previous life, I don´t know what we don´t have in our world, but something just tells me that things are not the same as I am familiar with, though at least the common sense seems to be the same._

_Still if I ever wish to return to my former life, I will have to see this through until the end, may it be bitter or not_." I muttered, as I stood there, outside of our bedroom, looking up in the starlit sky.

It was unlike anything I had ever seen, like a dark chest full of diamonds.

"Still if this world is a treasure chest, I won´t mind to explore it." I said chuckling.

"Nicely said." I heard a voice stating, as I got lost in the stars.

I looked over to the other balcony, next to ours, to see Alicia standing there, looking in the sky as well.

"It´s a majestic view, won´t you say, I cannot remember when I last saw such a starlit sky, such a beautiful sight." She stated with a warm smile and I blushed.

"Indeed, the more I look into it, the more I can get lost into it." I replied.

"_Just like in your eyes_." I thought as I glanced over to her.

I honestly did not know why I was so attracted to her, but something deep within me just told me that she was the one, the one I was destined to spent my life with, the woman I would vow to protect no matter what.

When Red talked about taking one of the girls under my wings, I instantly thought about her, but it is as Animarios said, first we had to make sure we could all trust each other.

I had no idea if she would even appreciate being defended by me, maybe she would, maybe she wouldn´t, she struck me as a shy and lovely girl.

In my heart was a certain feeling which told me that Alicia was not a bad person, not at all.

And yet it seemed to me that there was something melancholic in her glance, as she watched the sky, as if she grieved something.

Unable not to notice was the ring she wore on her hand, it was without a doubt an engagement ring, but the strange thing was that I knew the ring very well somehow, even though I saw it the very first time at the world-gates.

Could it be…., was it myself who once gave her that ring…, had Alicia and I been a couple in our old world?

Was she perhaps my fiancée?

If that was true, then what in the world was important enough for us to erase our memories of our happy life, to obtain it?

What was the reason I entered the Trial of the Soul, and what was hers?

"_Either way…, I would not mind in the slightest if she was mine__**.**_" I thought as I glanced over to her just as she glanced over to me.

Once again, our glances were averted with us blushing, but the attraction between us was most certain to me and I bet so it was to her as well.

I hope things run smoothly in the future…, who knows, maybe we find back together, the signs were at least good as far as I could tell.

"_Que sera sera, whatever will be will be_." I thought as I returned to watch the night sky alongside of Alicia on the other balcony.

Little I wondered, what might happen right now, in the world we left behind.

_**Meanwhile in the Kingdom of Prairie, Prairia Slums, Flare´s Pov:**_

It was somehow strange, a feeling I never had before, a sudden feeling of incompleteness.

I was so far away from Alicia and Stare, as I had never been in my life before, ever since I knew them.

I wondered if both were alright, there in this place they had to go…., why did I leave their side again?

Of course, I knew the reason…., first off, I was not allowed in those ruins on the back of that Sky whale, only the chosen ones were…, and I was none of those chosen ones, I would not be able to help them anyways, I am weak, I understood that during our journey on Ragdoll.

Not just that, I also was not blessed with magic powers like Alicia or a brilliant mind like Stare, hell I was not even of the same blood, I did not possess any affinity towards magic, all I could do was to modestly fight with daggers.

But it was tearing a hole in my heart, once again I was reminded that in the end I did not truly belonged to their family, that I was just added to it due to circumstances in our past.

Both were away, vanished somewhere dangerous and foreign, out of reach for me.

Myself on the other hand…, well one of us had to look if the Kittens, Orphans and Sister Angelica were still alright, I was now their big sister, the one with the responsibility.

It was hard to say what did happened in the Kingdom, ever since we had left it.

All we knew was, what Princess Terria told us, which then again was told to her by her father, so it was only natural that before I could do my own thing, I had to get myself some certainty about that.

But it still did not suit with me well, that Alicia and Stare were out there trying to survive in a dangerous trial, while I was so far away from them.

All I could do was to pray for them and to help Calua, Lady Opera and Panta, to make both, the Shepherd Republic and the Kingdom of Prairie, a lot safer than it used to be.

We had a job to do and we had to succeed in it, just like Alicia, Waffle, Stare, Gren, Parmesan, Cyan and the Princess had to succeed in their mission.

However, there was a certain detail which made me despairing.

The prospect of death.

It was told to us by King Maranell, that Death was a possibility in these Trials.

One of the reasons why I was at first against them all going, I loved them all far too much to let them go, first of all my sisters and Waffle, sure, of course I liked the Princess and Cyan, as well as all the others too, no one of them should have to face such dangers and yet, knowing their reasons, didn´t made my decision of letting them go any easier.

Then again there was a possibility, which was even more possible, that we could die as well.

If there really were Lycanians, who had overtaken Andalusia, and if they would indeed manage to awaken Nidhog, then both of us, Calua and myself could die as well.

Either way, if one of us had to die, it was apart from the other.

"_Why did I let them go, I should have gone with them_." I muttered as I walked through the streets of the halfway destroyed slums of Prairia.

This hadn´t really looked all too inviting to begin with, ever since the attacks 4 years ago…, however now it was even worse.

Many of the houses which still stood from the attack of the Iron Giant, were now but collapsed ruins, bombarded and torn down, some were even still burning, while the fire defenders did their best to save what could be saved.

"This place sure had it rough, it´s in a devastating state." Calua stated as he looked around with a bitter frown.

"Indeed, it had been attacked twice in less than 10 years, the big canal in the middle of the slums had once been a simple river over which many bridges were built, but the attack of the iron giant razed the entire buildings along its shores away, as if it was grass in a garden.

I tell you, once the damage was documented, we were shocked by the sheer violence inflicted on us through this thing…, if that were to happen in Andalusia…, its no wonder that we have to get this clue, which we assume to find in our old hideout, as fast as possible." I stated and he nodded.

"We need to find it, if it is as crucial as we think, than we might get all the info's we need to free Andalusia from the silent occupation which is most likely going on down there.

If what Gren said is true, with Lune Sacher and the revolution in Andalusia already in motion, then things soon will get quite heated over there, yet again.

If we are not careful and intervene early enough, it could trigger a new Civil-War…, I don´t like the thought of that one bit.

No child should have to go through what I had to go through." Calua explained, with a determined expression in his face, which made him seem so sexy, as well as heroic at the same time.

But the deep sorrow and melancholy which was lately ever present in his mine, compared to his usual happy-go-lucky-demeanour, brought my rampaging heart back to the ground with a hard beat.

Ever since he saved my life multiple times, during these last few days on Ragdoll, I came to fall head over heels for him, when before it was just a heat-ridden infatuation and mutual understanding, did it quickly become a simple yet meaningful love story between us, especially after I showed him that despite him saying that he loved me, I was still alive.

That the curse he thought to be under had no effect on me.

I did not truly believe in jinxes and such occult stuff anyways, so I was certain that I would be left unaffected by it, even if Calua still believe in it, somehow, wanting to keep me on distance but still unable to completely go through with that.

I do not regret at all to have slept with him that night in Cedarwood, even though we barely knew each other for one month only…., before we were even in a true relationship, let alone engaged or married.

Maybe the mating-season made us do it, but neither he nor I could deny, that we didn't not wanted it to happen, in the back of our minds.

Either way, all I could say was, that I was happier than I could ever be, the moment he told me, that he harboured genuine feelings for me made me so happy.

Of course, was there still his mistress which was anything but genuinely happy for Calua, to have found someone he could truly love, in contrast to that Gren was happy for us…, in his own ways.

Calua once knew that alone he was powerless, he had to depend on someone who would eventually help him someday, and he did that by staying with Gren and his Mistress throughout the years, helping them with their problems after Lord Baritone had perished.

If he would be able to get the Kurvaz and S.I.T.K.A. to help him, we definitely could save Andalusia and avenge his fallen friends and families.

"_But for now we have to find evidences to show the new Government of the other Islands and the Generals of the Kurvaz, for them to act…., Lady Opera´s word alone does not count, especially now that she was no longer a member of the Kurvaz_." I thought to myself.

Speaking of the Kurvaz the same had meanwhile being disbanded rebuild and reconstructed to a whole new organization, but Calua still had a say in it, as far as their new director, Sir Quebec explained.

"I sure was surprised as the White Whale appeared, I never thought that such a thing could exist…, and those special agents, its like out of one of the Television shows the kitten like to watch." I stated as I remembered how they suddenly arrived on Ragdoll, together with the Sky Riders around Cham and his sister, with whom I got along quite well, he was similar to me in some way.

"_S.I.T.K.A., I heard about them before…, but I would have never anticipated such a secret to be behind them, more Hybrids, professional assassins and all of them have ties to Red Savarin, Lady Merveille sure knows how to surprise someone_." Calua mumbled.

"It would be a great asset to have them on our side…, King Maranell has already made his point clear to all of us…, if a new invasion by the Lycanians were to threaten us, or if they were to attack us directly in terroristic acts, he would help us, simple as this.

However, he will not directly get involved into matters concerning the Regions themselves, he will only support us under extraordinary circumstances, until his son, Red overtakes part of the Responsibility after he returns from the Trial.

Still he has also said that if there truly are more Titano Machinae about to be awakened, by Lycanians or other parties which are up to no good, he will send his troops to help us out.

But as I said, that only works in extraordinary situations, without evidences of such we might get in trouble with the law, if we just invade Andalusia with the Kurvaz and other forces.

If things go wrong, we might even start another Civil war by ourselves…., we have to be extra careful, now that the Governments have to first reorganize themselves to make sure our Republic can remain Lycan-free and safe." I stated and he nodded.

"I am sure Lady Opera understands this." He replied and I nodded.

Even if his mistress was still reluctant and largely opposing the idea of Calua and me, as well as Gren and Stare, did she told us that we had her gratitude after we saved her from a cruel fate at the hands of her arch-enemy

_**The scars of**_ _**that Incident**_ will forever stay _**on my back**_, so much is clear, but as long as Calua still sees me as desirable, I do not truly mind it.

"It is unfortunately a fact, that Andalusia has a certain status of being a land, which has set itself apart from the governing _**High-Council of the Republic**_ for many years and only recently began to meet them halfway in their demands.

If this however had been an attempt to influence and infiltrate the High-Council, as well as to gather informations for the Lycanians, still has to be investigated first.

There is honestly so much to do, before we can actively go against them at all.

That is one thing which hinders _**the operations of S.I.T.K.A.**_, but then again, what can the government do, to keep them from being seen and known as nothing but a violent bunch, who appears wherever they want, to fight their battles, even if it makes things worse…., lock them up until they are needed?

If they control us, who controls them?

That is the Question which the government asks itself now, in regard of the Hybrids which work for S.I.T.K.A.

The Existence of this part of the Kurvaz has been remained in secret for quite a while, ever since Lady Merveille had begun her work in the Kurvaz, giving birth to her Children Alpharia, Betakin and Cetala, as well as adopting Yin and Yang Libra.

Adding Red Savarin, Rosella Armin, Carmine Canelé, Crimson Canelé and Alexia Evertrance to the mix, would make this motley crew alone strong enough, to overthrow the entire Republic twice, if wished.

Also, since Bruno Dondurma had ties to the Lycanians, it is not hard to determine, that they were well aware of what S.I.T.K.A. truly was.

The fact that they attacked Bordaussie, _**to destroy the Million Ranch,**_ does speak for an assumption of moles in the Kurvaz.

Sir Quebec, Lady Merveille and Sir Beluga´s mission is to find the leaks and fix them, unless that is done it also brings nothing to try and get the Kurvaz to help us, the Enemy would know about all of our operations before we could even execute them." Calua stated and I nodded in thoughts, as we walked on.

"They have somehow manipulated the Kurvaz the whole time, leading to plenty of unnecessary casualties over the years." He stated with a bitter mine and gritted teethes, I knew much about it as I heard one of these moles talking about so much.

Some guy called Maxwell Crown, who, as it happened to be, was also an acquaintance of Red Savarin and Princess Choco and Maya, as the four had been raised in the same Orphanage.

"Starting from the tragedy 7 years ago, as so many of your people died, because some of your people had slipped information to the enemy, mainly Maxwell Crown, which your Mistress had killed during the battle, the spiral of conspiracy and betrayal has gone deep…, very deep.

He might have been just a little cog in the infiltration machinery of the Lycanians, but it was enough to shape the entire future history of the Kurvaz from that point on.

Pardon my use of words, but with Lord Baritone and Sir Quebec out of their way, Bruno Dondurma had enough influence on Lady Opera, Gren and yourself, to manipulate you into doing his biding, in exchange for his apparent help to find Crown and Fool.

As Crown knew about your Family history due to him conversing with the rebels and escapees of that time, it is to assume that he told Bruno about the Iron giant and Titano Machinae in the first place, setting the stage for all the future events to come.

Bruno, who most likely was one of the leading Heads of the New-Moon-Society in the Shepherd Republic of our Generation, used his influence and cunning strategies to gather all the knowledge he needed to get himself _**the strongest Titano Machinae in the Republic**_.

As Armenia was to that time completely restricted and basically nothing known about it, he could not know that an even stronger weapon was and _**still is sleeping there underneath the Crater-lake**_.

Upon meeting Beluga, _**a free-living Paladin**_, Bruno must have known that he could use him for his plan in some way, but first he had to gain his and Lady Merveille´s trust.

It lasted a long time, 5 entire years since Maxwell Crowns betrayal on you, before Bruno finally managed to convince the Lycanian-Ragdoll-Headquarter to hand _**the Medallion of Lares**_ over to him, not knowing that Beluga already possessed _**the Lemures Medallion**_, which was hidden in Merveille's Lab.

Unfortunately, the two medallions, so close together and out of the _**safety magic of Ragdoll**_, reacted to each other, Lemures Medallion was stripped of its power, send over the Board system of the Golden Roar, towards the Lares Medallion.

However, _**Lares managed to intervene and gather the energy for itself**_, adding it to its own accumulated power, which it had gathered over the 3 centuries in which it slept, which helped it to awaken prematurely.

What Bruno had not anticipated was _**the existence of a Second free Paladin, Elhize Melizee,**_ which had felt the force of the Medallions and had slipped upon _the Transport Airship, __**the Hindenburg**__, which was supposed to get the Lares Medallion_ _from the Lycanians_, instead of the Airship on which the Lemures Medallion was on upon, the Golden Roar.

All of it by mistake of course.

But it was a blessing in disguise, this way Elh was able to strip Lares of his powers for a while, by _**sacrificing her own Nono forces,**_ to hinder _**the partially awakening of Lares **_and stop it from continuing its rampage and _**falling in standby modus**_ instead.

She herself was falling unconscious due to that, the Lares Medallion still at her side in the collapsing Airship, before Red Savarin invaded the Transport-airship´s lower level, found Elh and the Medallion and this way set all further events in motion." I told him, as we walked through the streets.

"Did you hear all of this from Maxwell?" Calua asked and I nodded.

"He was begging for his life as Lady Opera threatened him and demanded answers of why he betrayed the Kurvaz in such a way, spouting everything he ever knew before Lady Opera stepped back, as one of the Mechas of the Lycanians fell over and buried him underneath.

From his telling we also got to know, that the fact, that Lady Merveille only helped the Kurvaz to get the funds for her own research, didn´t quite concerned Bruno, as _**the Lycanians did not held it for necessary to inform him of Baion**_ and about his plans of unleashing both Lares and Lemures for his own purposes.

Maybe they saw it as a possible test run for the two titano Machinae, to witness their power with own eyes, however Bruno managed to get his plan through quicker than Baion anticipated and was able to react to it.

Also did Merveille not knew about the Lares Medallion, before Beluga recognized the Medallion which Elh possessed.

We are certain that Bruno had only halfway a knowledge about how to actually awaken Lares, he had no idea that he would merge with the same upon awakening it, to act as a pilot and a secondary consciousness of it." I stated as we finally arrived infront of the door.

"_Well that did not stop him from trying it either way, and we three idiots even helped him to do the same Fool wanted to, and in the end, had done_." Calua muttered and I comfortingly caressed his arm which I held intertwined.

"Well at least we now know how foolish we had been to trust General Bruno…, still, it is quite a hard slap in the face, to get to know, that the man we put our faith into, had been partially responsible for all of our misery and for the death of the man that had saved his life, years before." Calua stated with a sigh.

"_Well I sure had my fair share of betrayal as well_." I muttered, as I looked at collapsed buildings, thinking back on how I felt, as I saw how Fool awakened the Iron giant, revealing his betrayal to us three and crushing all of Alicia´s dreams with heavy stomps.

I rembered back at the betrayal I felt, as I was put in that orphanage without anyone ever punishing the murderers.

"Flare is that you?" We heard a voice asking, ripping me out of my trail of thoughts, as we heard steps coming rapidly closer, I turned around only to be heartily embraced.

"Sister Angelica, oh its good to see that nothing bad had happened to you…, how are the children?" I asked her as she teared up in my embrace.

"They are fine, once that attack occurred, we were instantly brought into a raid shelter by some of our neighbours, this way we managed to overcome all of this mess.

But I tell you it was awful, suddenly everywhere fires broke out, buildings collapsed and screams everywhere, a scene straight out of hell, and you guys were nowhere to be found…., I feared the worst, that's when I saw your notice on the kitchen table, that you went to get your sister.

For once I was glad you guys had been out to…., you know." The Sister stated and I nodded.

"Calua as well as whole Porto knows about it, so no need to hide it from him." I explained and she nodded.

"By the way, where have you girls been all the time, have you been at Porto?

I heard it had been massively attacked and that it was a real massacre, I hoped you had made it outside safely…, and where are your sisters now….,don´t tell me they have….?" The Sister asked in shock, but I instantly calmed her down.

"No fear, Alicia and Stare are just fine, they just have a lot to do right now, I came to get myself a picture of the situation and see after the Children and You." I stated and she sighed in relief.

There was no merit in telling her the truth, at least not for now.

"That´s good to hear, Alicia and Stare can be a handful sometimes, as opposing as their differences are…, but I strongly hoped and prayed that you all survived, no one should die in such a way." Sister Angelica replied and I nodded.

"Thanks a lot, your prayer surely has helped…, anyways…, doesn't look good if you ask me…, I guess we will have to get ourselves a new place." I stated and she nodded, as we looked at the collapsed building, which once had been a working Orphanage, with a frown on our faces.

"Indeed…, and just after I got used to this place, it is a real shame…, well at least no one of us died, that is the main-thing, but I heard that some people from the block have perished, may _**Oshila-sama**_ embrace their souls into the Heavenly plains." She stated as she folded her hands in a prayer to her god.

"By the way, who is this young man you are with today, can´t say I ever met him before, is he a friend of yours?" She asked as she recognized Calua standing next to me, our arms still intertwined.

"Oh of course, where are my manners?

Sister Angelica, this is my Boyfriend, Calua Napage, he´s from the Shepherd Republic.

Calua this is Sister Angelica, she is a great person who helps us with the Orphanage, she too comes out of the Shepherd Republic, from Samoyede." I stated, with pride swelling in my chest.

"I see you must be an Anjuist then, I heard from them by Beluga." Calua asked and the Sister eagerly nodded.

"So you finally found yourself a man, good to you, as _**a Sister of the Anjuist-Order**_, my life belongs to his lord Oshila-sama, however most of the men outside of Samoyede just do not understand that.

Even if we Anjuists are allowed to marry can´t I get a man for my own, so this does make me a little jealous, even though I shall not envy my neighbour." The Sister stated.

"I´m sure someday you find your dream-man, Sister, there is a time for everything." I replied and she nodded.

"Those who keep their faith, are those to be rewarded in time." She recited and I nodded.

"Anyways, c´mon follow me, I will get you to the children, they are eager to see you and then you can tell me anything that happened to you, I am certain, that you have much to tell us." She stated and we nodded as we walked after her, through the streets, climbing over the rubble which once used to be the houses of the streets, everywhere the remains of them laid around.

Here and there we could see dead bodies which were put into body bags or dug out from under the rubble, shattered rooms, smashed buildings, houses burnt to the ground and broken streetlights.

The sister was right, this indeed looked terrible, like after a war.

Well technically seen, that is what had happened, a war was fought here…., and the Kingdom of Prairie would never be what it was before.

A Fact we all had to accept….

The Battles were over for now, but the war was far from having ended.

_**To be continued….**_

_**A/N: I present to you the first 2 Chapters of my new Book, I hope you have enjoyed the first one and the side stories, I hope you are eager to read some more.**_

_**As always Read and review as well as recommend if you find this story enjoyable.**_

_**Sincerely, yours truly, the Storyteller and his Books.**_


	3. Ch 3, Altera Vita

**空とロマンス**

**Sola to Romansu (Sky and Romance)**

**Book 2:**

**Chronicles of the Scarlet Prince**

_**Chapter 3: Altera Vita**_

_**Starlight-Dragon-Tavern, Red´s Pov:**_

I saw Mountains, fields, a huge river which split into two small streams of silver and gold, depending on how the sun was shining upon it.

I saw a paved road, people strolling around town, carts driven over the streets busily, the noise of business and idle chattering was loudly to hear, several market-stalls shouted out the praises for their newest products.

The smell of fresh bread and fish was wafting up to our room, so strong I was almost able to taste it.

A bakery opened up its shop on one side of the road, a coffee-store on the other side.

In the far back, several miles away from where I stood, you could see the ocean and the ships which unloaded their cargo in the local harbor, you could hear birds from the same, flying over the vastness of the ocean before landing near the beach to breed, these were the first things I saw, heard, smelled, felt and tasted when I was looking out of the window of our shared room, here at the Starlight-Dragon-Tavern.

And even though to me it was all new to me and my comrades, was this just a regular morning, as at every other ordinary day, here in town.

This was _**Altera Vita**_, what once began as a small village quickly grew in size and assimilated all the other small communities and villages around, growing towards a huge town, and yet she was still small compared to the main towns of the neighboring kingdoms.

Upon a mountain, near the cliffs, towering on the other side of the harbor, you could see the ruins of the old and abandoned castle of the former Royal Family of these lands.

People in town say that a huge treasure was surely hidden somewhere in that building, but ever since the King´s family had been murdered during a riot with pirates, which they had apparently provoked in some way, the people kept their distance of that place.

Rumors had it, that some of the pirates had build up base there, also it was said that the forest surrounding the castle was overrun with beasts, from small to larger ones.

But even more the forest themselves frightened the people, as the wind which streamed through the trees sounded like voices speaking to you, some of the elder folks in town were certain that these were the voices of the deceased.

It was mysterious and it did pique my interest, but I knew better than to get all gung-ho for such an uncertain treasure-hunt, especially without a glimpse of success or merit in it.

Altera vita sure had much to offer and there was no way that anyone, who were to travel further east, would not make a stop here for a few days.

Rivers, endless forests and meadows, mountains and roads and ways into the unknown.

It was a beautiful view beyond imagination, if you saw it the way I saw it.

It made all the stories of adventures and the excitement of the main characters from novels, which I have ever read, all the easier to understand, since it seemed that I was stuck right within an adventure of my own.

Of course I had no memories of which novels I might have read before, but the few I found in the tavern in a shelf, for the entertainment of the customers of the same, had me craving for more.

Then again, the thing with adventures was not so out of the question.

Altera vita was not for nothing called the Town of New Beginnings.

After all, even I had a certain mission, a quest I had to accomplish, and I had comrades by my side to help me get through with it.

For one thing was sure to all of us, we will surely need the help of each other to accomplish our primary goal, to get back our lost memories of who we really are, as well as to fulfill our secondary goal, to get out of this world somehow, back to our families and friends.

The big treasure we were supposed to find, somewhere in this world as well as the fulfillment of the Trials Grand-Quest at all, was only on third place of our priorities, especially since we didn´t even know what we were searching for in the first place, neither where our lost memories could be.

Still, one thing seemed to have remained to all of us, a specific amount of memories was left to us, nothing too significant, just enough to at least be able to identify ourselves, with someone who truly has lost some of their memories.

Waffle for example, had still some vague memories of his homeland remaining, not clearly able to tell how it really looked like but he just had several assumptions about it.

Cyan somehow knew that he was born to wield a sword, his capabilities in swordsmanship spoke books of that.

Betakin and Mamoru had some mutual memories about their sisters Matoi and Alpharia remaining and vise-versa, but not enough to truly be able to build up the same relationship, which they might have had before.

Animarios on the other hand still knew that he was supposed to be guarding _**one of the biggest secrets**_ his world had to offer and that he was a really important person for the future, however he could not imagine nor tell in which way he was, or to whom this might be so important.

Myself, I had this thing on my neck, as an identification of who I once was.

It was what Ephilias called an _**Ashen Crystal**_, a crystal made out of the compressed funeral ashes of someone or something as well as crystal dust.

Somehow, I knew that the ashes belonged to a person very dear to me, whose death left a gaping wound within my heart, unable to completely close itself, and that this someone was a girl.

Mud-Brown hair, the bluest eyes I had ever seen before, smart and mischievous at times, a smile most pleasant.

All of that I remembered, but I couldn´t see her clearly in my mind, nor even say what her name might be, or who it was, Cousin, sister, friend…, maybe even girlfriend or fiancée, it was beyond cruel to be honest.

_**Her initials**_, _**H.T.**_, were engraved in the back of the medallion, in which the heart shaped crystal was edged.

Ever since I woke up in this world I had it with me, around my neck, all the time, I never took it off, even when the vague memories of that girl seemed to crush my heart and transform me into an emotional mess, just like right now.

I stood at the window of our room, looked outside onto the busy street of Altera Vita, feeling the warmth of the sun which shone over the town, right into the room of the Starlight-Dragon-Tavern.

A name which was given in honor to a certain phenomenon in this world.

At the end of each year, the brightest stars twinkle in a certain constellation, reminding of a huge dragon.

_**Dragons once did exist**_, _**the folk of the Elyan**_, the original inhabitants of Elysia, were such dragons, at least most of them had wings, there were of course wingless dragons under them too.

While the winged ones were agile and prone in armed combat, some of the wingless Elysian were stronger than their conspecifics, even in unarmed combat.

The weakest under them however began to sharpen their minds and not less of them became scholars or even mastered the high art of wonderworking and magic known by shamans and Paladins.

Against my earlier assumption of Ephilias being a Repturui, he too was one of the descendants of the folk of the Elyan.

He belonged to the wingless ones with the strong bodies, one reason of why he was able to survive in this world, he was just physically so much stronger than the average man.

"_If I ever want to be as strong a him, I really have to crank things up." _I mumble to myself, as I remembered yesterday's sparring-session with the other guys, to test our strengths.

Of course, Ephilias left us all in the dust, be it in armed or unarmed combat, he did say that he defeated many ferocious beasts single-handily before.

The ones with the best swordsmanship among us men, were definitely Greyhound Canine and Cyan Garland, as I said Cyan was literally born to wield a sword, but Greyhound too had skills as if he had trained for combat since many years.

He somehow had such a demeanor as someone straight out of the army, he seemed restless if he was unable to do something.

For the time being he was occupied with wood hacking, a work he got from _**the owner of the tavern, Timotheus**_, to the same´s very surprise, guess none of his guests ever asked them to help them out.

As we did not want to let him be the only one to work his butt off and to not best us, we too accepted several jobs the owner could give us, it was good training for when we would work for real, also did this gave us some extra days to remain in the tavern, should the money run out beforehand, especially during summer, when the town was visited by endless streams of merchants and tourists, the Tavern was shorthanded and always looking for people who could help the owner and his daughter, to master the same.

Well the Tavern was the most famous point of interest in town, not for nothing for _**the owner´s beautiful daughter, Aurelia**_ and the good shows being held here.

I was to act as a waiter this evening, once the tavern has filled up again.

Jipsy and her group were staying in the tavern for a while, paying for it with their performances, which meant that the tavern was bound to be full again tonight.

Last night´s show surely left quite the impact on us, thought Timotheus explained that Jipsy and her group were regulars here, they always came at the same time of the year and stayed for about 2 weeks, before traveling further.

We had decided, together with the girls, that we would take it easy for a couple of days, to get accustomed to this new way of life, before we would go to search for real jobs.

One week should be enough for that, I would say.

The first I wanted to do anyways, was to check out the Swordsmanship-school in town, the first lesson was for free, so it was a good opportunity for us guys and it was bound to be useful, once we would leave the town to go on that journey and quest, which still laid ahead of us in the fog of uncertainty.

The girls on the other hand decided to look for jobs in the local stores.

Especially Terria was eager to work in a fashion-shop and yes, I could definitely see her there.

It was incredible what she was able to do with the leftover scraps of cloth which Aurelia was about to throw away, she spiked up her own dress and that of the other girls with it and it did looked good on them, especially on Elhize, a dress looked somehow so refreshing in contrast from her earlier get-up, consisting of a simple linen shirt and brown jeans, still…., maybe that was but my own preference though.

But it could also come in handy in her pursuit of getting a job, if she dressed a little more feminine.

Elhize had decided to ask the local Library if they needed help, not for the least to gather informations about this world and where we best should start our journey, once we were ready to leave.

She also seemed curious about the magic of the Elyan, then again, magic in itself was surely interesting…, can´t hurt to learn some attack and defense spells, I guess.

Elhize had this certain aura on her, which made her look far older than anyone of us, at least in terms of intellect she was far ahead of us, even if she herself had no idea where all this knowledge came from.

Being in her vicinity gave me a feeling of ease and satisfaction somehow and I often saw her blushing when she looked at me…, so maybe she felt the same about me, who knows.

I had no idea about her, but I might be attracted to her, out of whatever reason.

Maybe it was love at first sight, but something told me that there was something different between us, a relationship which went far deeper than the mere attraction to the opposite sex.

Could it be that we were so much closer before we arrived here, were we lovers perhaps?

"_Maybe…, then again, it´s not as if I don´t get along with the other girls too_." I mumbled.

Apparently, according to Animarios´s words, I had a pretty good and easy time speaking with the rest of the girls, especially easy was it with Choco, Anastasia, Parmesan and Alicia, much to the dismay of Cereus and Waffle, who both made it clear to me that they were highly attracted to Alicia and Choco.

But I assured them that I harbored no such feeling´s for any of the other girls, sure I did had a good connection to Choco somehow and It did feel as though I knew her for a long time, but even if that were the case, Anastasia was quite protective of her sister Choco and would not let us being alone, even if we just talked.

It was as though she protected her from everything and everyone, even if there was no danger any near, as if she feared to lose her out of sight if she ever left her side or let go.

This was her cross to bear, her memory, her overwhelming urge to protect Choco.

Choco didn´t seemed to mind it much, it more amused her to be honest, how doting her older sister was, but that didn´t meant that she was weak and needed that kind of over-the-top protection, I was sure that she was fairly capable of handling difficult situations herself.

Choco was accustomated, if it came to understanding how machines and other mechanical things worked and how they were operated.

Alicia, that was clear even to me, was attracted to Waffle , same as him to her, and it was unlikely that she would go for any other of us guys, she spoke with us, laughed with us, but her eyes constantly wandered off towards that particular man, so it was obvious that none of us stood a chance, of getting more than a simple unpersonal, yet not empty smile from her.

Then again, she seemed to speak more to me and Waffle than to any of the others.

She had even a hard time speaking with her sister Stare, about anything they had in common, as their interests and personalities seemed to differ almost entirely, while Alicia was docile and opened up to people only sporadic, was Stare far more levelheaded, she did not minded to speak what she thought of, even if it seemed harsh to others.

She was not afraid of telling even the scariest looking man in the entire tavern off, after he bumped into Alicia without apologizing, the same was left in tears in the end.

To be honest, from the sheer look of it, I had though that their personalities were completely reversed, that Alicia was the confident, loud one, especially due to the way she dressed, she liked loose clothing, not afraid to show some cleavage, while Stare, which was buttoned up to her collar, seemed more like the docile and calm type…., well things are never quite the way they seem and looks sure can be deceiving.

I bet that Gren had no idea, with what he dealt with, in his pursuit of getting closer to that confident lady.

Parmesan on the other hand didn´t seemed to show much attraction to any of us guys, sure she respected us for who we were, Cyan even more for his swordsmanship, as she aspired to master her own sword as well.

But if I would guess to whom she was attracted to the most out of us 22, I would say that it was the girl called Suzette Tinkerer, the both of them were almost always together and even if Suzette showed not much of herself, letting none of us see into her cards…., didn´t she seemed to mind Parmesan´s closeness and apparent affection at all.

I guess that was just because she was too much occupied with repairing stuff, she had taken it upon herself to repair anything broken in the Tavern, like the Radio of the Tavern, with which you could listen to the local news reports and important announcements.

She seemed to have a certain craving, for building and dissembling mechanical things, which was scary in a certain way.

Matoi and Nyanja were nice kids, there was nothing more I could say to that, they were just as you would expect of their age, nice, curious and still uncertain about the whole situation, unable to completely cope with the same, they were of course supported by their older brothers.

Then there was Alpharia…., she was strong, she was fierce…, and she was doubtful…, not of others but of herself, she constantly questioned her own self, her skills, her motives, the path forward she took, it was as thought the least person she trusted was herself.

She almost entirely depended on her Brother Betakin, but she also seemed to hold high hopes onto my opinions, for some reason…., I dared not to call it affection, for that I think she was way to unsure about her own feelings overall.

The one Woman, with whom I had the least connection with was most definitely Ruomei, she was a reserved girl and although she seemed to get along with everyone just fine, did she not really stood out.

It was as though she tried her best to stay out of focus, which was sad in all honesty, as she was really beautiful in her own right, but she had something unaproachable to herself.

then again she practically sought the attention and company of Chocolat and Anastasia, even though she was older thna both of thm, maybe it was because they all were kumears after all..., or maybe she swings that way, who knows?

She was comparable to all the other girls in terms of beauty and sexappeal, not that anyone of them was in anyway ugly or anything.

She just had this wallflower attitude…, of remaining almost unnoticed by others.

I think she was the one who felt herself the least comfortable with the whole situation.

She seemed melancholic all the time, as if something extremely important to her was missing, maybe that was what got her down all the time, but I doubt she knew exactly what or who it was, that was missing, same as we all did.

Maybe her family or her boyfriend, makes me wonder why she had decided to participate in this trial, she didn´t seemed to have any connection to anyone of us, not even in the slightest.

But then again, she seemed to get along quite well with the calm Greyhound, who equally did not speak much unless he was asked something, nor seemed to really belong to anyone of us, it was as though the two of them just coincidently ended up here.

Then again her reflexes in Battle were nearly as good as Greyhound´s, who seemed like a trained soldier himself, i saw the sparring together the other day, they sure are skilled, compared to most of us, though i sure aint weak myself.

The only one she really looked at different was Ephilias, at least when the same showed off his skills in combat, she seemed to followed them attentively, as if she was trying to learn how he moved and later on copy them.

I guess she was quite interested in martial arts then.

Elhize told me that she saw her training alone in the backyard of the Tavern yesterday, shortly before evening.

Even now, she seemed to be just back from a run around town, which was remarkable, considering the fact that we just arrived here yesterday and she had not much equipment with her, but a dagger to defend herself.

If it were me, I would have already hopelessly gotten lost, trying the same, at the very least without having a map by my side to show me the way, which we, thanks to Ephilias, all were able to purchase, a map for each group.

After the thing we had decided under us men yesterday, that we should each take a girl under our wing to protect, we spoke with the girls about it this morning.

Useless to say that they were undecided whether this was a good idea, or just us guys trying already to take some control over their lives.

The discussion was long and hard and it lasted until the noon, constantly discussing pro and contra, until we finally were done, in the end, it was decided to split _**into two groups of 5 and two groups of 6**_, each commanded and led by a leader, who was supposed to be responsible for the harmony and the wellbeing of the same as well as to lead new information to any of its members.

In _**my group, the Scarlet Wolf Group,**_ we had _Elhize, Greyhound, Betakin, Alpharia and Animarios, as well as myself_.

In _**Cereus´s Group, the White Lion Group,**_ we had _Anastasia, Choco, Gren, Stare and himself_.

In _**Terria´s group, the Royal Canine Group,**_ we had _Cyan, Waffle, Alicia, Parmesan, Suzette and herself_.

In _**Mamoru´s group, the Young Hound Group,**_ we had _Matoi, Monja, Nyanja, Ruomei and himself_.

Although Ruomei was the oldest they nominated Mamoru as the leader in a mutual decision as the craving for knowledge, the faith in himself and others, the kindness and the courage he radiated made him a formidable Leader.

Still, I was not entirely sure if it was so wise to have a group almost solely consisting of kids, teenagers, which barely climbed the steps of adulthood, although i trusted Ruomei to keep them safe, as a responsible adult herself.

But as they were still wary of us other adults, it was only natural that most of them would rather keep being with those close of their own age, which made me wonder why Alpharia, Betakin and Animarios chose to remain with Elhize, Greyhound and myself.

Anyways, with that decision, everyone was more or less content and we decided to have a stroll around town to get to know the same, as the same was huge, each group was to visit another quarter of the town than the others.

We from the Scarlet Wolf group had the north-quarter to investigate which we decided to do in about 30 minutes.

"_I better get going or else the others will nag if I get to the meeting point too late_." I mumbled as I stepped back from the window, stretched and yawned the fatigue out of my system.

The summer sun was surely a delight if I may say so, not to hot but also not too sparse with its intensity.

The cloudless sky was perfect for an exploration of such magnitude.

As the Town laid right upon _**the intersection-points of four different Realms**_, each Quarter belonged to one of these lands and you could find regional curiosities and culinary products, which you just find in these four lands and here in the same town.

The town was huge, especially since all the ships at the harbor brought more and more merchants and tourist with them, which helped the same to constantly evolve.

However, with having four royal houses governing each a part of the town through one neutral Mayor, that also meant that the taxes were quite high, higher than in the neighboring villages, which laid right within one of the kingdoms, but they were all the same no matter in which quarter of the town you lived.

The Town was harmonious…, however that hadn´t be always the case.

Originally this land belonged to another Kingdom, _**King Aloyse Orpheus**_ was a strong and benevolent Caninu and he tried his best to have the folk of his Kingdom, lacking almost nothing, but as benevolent as he was, he also was naive, naïve to think that he alone was able to stop a stream of pirates from advancing to the mainland.

He and his men tried their best to fight them off, and they managed to make the Pirates retreat, but the Kingdom paid with a terrible price.

Their King had perished in the battle.

Once the same was no longer alive, the former Kingdom was in dire disarray, but even more so, without a ruler and it did not last long as the neighboring Four Kingdoms, which had laid in constant open hostility against each other, tried each to gain control over this small part of land, once they got to know that there was no heir to inherit the Kingdom.

Each kingdom was trying to seize it, for its lucrative position, until they all saw one and the same appearance on the blood-drenched battlefield.

A female Angel, made out of radiant Light, came down from heaven and in her presence all hostility, all anger, hatred and sorrow vanished as though it had never existed.

As fast as the angel appeared, so fast was she gone, but the overwhelming feeling of shame, to have fought and shed needless blood on the very ground, on which such a beautiful creature had descended, drove the kings and royals to cease all hostilities against each other immediately.

But just as everything seemed to come to an end, the newly established Pirate Alliance, raised their weapons against the four kingdoms to seize control over them, even more so over one significant Kingdom.

With their new-founded alliance, the Four Kingdoms fought in a harsh battle to protect every men and women, no matter which kingdom she or he were from.

The Battle lasted a few weeks long until it was resolved as the Pirates retreated back into the vastness of the Ocean.

The Four Kingdoms, once divided had found a common enemy which had to be defeated and instead of fighting among themselves for control, they sat together and in a huge summit, it was decided to split the responsibility of this land and establish _**a neutral center-figure**_ which were to govern the place and the original inhabitants, in their stead.

And so _**the Neutral land of Orpheus**_ was established and it didn´t lasted long until the first settlers from all four lands arrived and established together the village of Altera vita.

The first stone which had been laid to build that village, the foundation stone, was nowadays embedded in the oldest monument of the town, _**the Statue of the Four Kings**_, their swords intertwined as a symbol of their then-founded unity.

It was said that _**each sword was magical and powerful**_ enough to destroy an entire nation and that they were rarely used on the battlefield, since the establishment of the first houses of the Village around 100 years ago, no one had seen these swords ever again.

It was though strange, somehow these swords resembled the swords some of my comrades used, but I doubted that these were the same, the swords we used were quite beautifully crafted but ordinary swords to say the least.

"_Last seen 100 years ago…, I doubt this to be an artefact stolen from anybody of us_." I mused as I sat down at the base of the statue, after arriving there, to wait for the others of my group.

We were to explore the northern Part of the Town, the one belonging to _**the Rubryxon Kingdom**_, a huge Nation, whose Central Government was built right within a valley located near the vast _**Rubories Mountain Range**_, it almost entirely consisted out of Taurhizas, their large horns were surely impressive and I bet quite deadly in a battle.

Their King, _**King Doran Rubryxon XV**_, was proud of its nations Black- and Goldsmiths and the vast amount of treasures they dug up from within the mountains, which were shipped of into the entire Continent, every Noble man and woman in this world possessed at least one little jewel from Rubryxon.

Due to that, some called King Duran also the King under the Mountain, however due to his lands being rich of mineral resources, they were often victims of invasions in the past.

The pirates which roam _**the Grande Arventura Ocean**_, far south from Alterna Vita, were all eager to seize these massive treasures, but ever since the Alliance of the Four Kingdoms, they had it quite hard.

They were surrounded by the Lands beyond the great Ocean, _**the Kingdom of Loracion**_ _and its near unpassable Rainforest to the south_, _**The Kingdom of Selforas**_ _and its harsh Tundra to the east,_ as well as _**the Kingdom of Merilovas**__ and its hell of a desert to the west_.

The same, bordering to _**the Alcunara Desert**_, behind the Loracion Rainforest, same as Selforas´ Tundra, was effectively cutting of the Pirates retreat to a safe shore, they had to be in constant motion on the Grande Arventura Ocean, otherwise the naval armies of all four kingdoms would soon catch them.

However, that made the ocean a quite dangerous place if you aren´t defended by a huge escort.

Merchant Guilds of Altera Vita are paying a high fee for an escort of their ships, since those are coming all the way from Loracion over the ocean.

Half of the ocean belongs to their Kingdom, while the rest lies within the jurisdiction of the three other Kingdoms as a joint property.

Such was decided to even the size of property among the four Realms, as the Alcunara desert is a huge pile of sand and emptiness, with barely anything inside, even the Merilova Desert has more Oases than the Alcunara Desert, it takes 2 weeks on foot to traverse it once.

On the other hand, the Grande Arventura Ocean possesses a large number of smaller to bigger islands within itself, splattered all across its vastness.

Some of these islands had villages, others had even towns, so it was decided that over ¾ of those islands were to belong to the Loracion Kingdom, while the rest was governed by _**the High-Council of Altera Vita**_, consisting out of the Mayor of the Town and the ministers of Merilova, Rubryxon and Selforas.

So far, I understand this world, or at least the direct surroundings of Altera Vita, but everything beyond these four realms is yet unknown and unreachable for us…., for now at least.

Altera Vita was rich of jobs to be done, that was for sure, due to being the center-point of five ancient Kingdoms, there were a lot of archaeological sites across the town and around it.

The name Altera Vita was once chosen to also specify that.

As the name had two meanings, _**Alter**_ was the Elysian world for Alternative, which was meant for the Travelers and us Wanderers, who brought new things and new cultures to the village and later, the Town, however you could also read it as _**Al Tera**_ which meant _**Old Earth**_, or soil of old history.

Next to its rich history was Altera Vita also definitely the job-market without equal, working at the harbor was sure to get you good money, with all the ships incoming, there was always work to find…, however you ought to have a durable body and a lot of muscles.

If anyone of us could do it, then it was sure to be Greyhound, we guys might still be able to do some of the lesser works there, but I think we are more suited for guarding and fighting.

At least I know that I am, I have neither any technological knowhow, nor very good corporal motoric, if it comes to do something precise.

Animarios and the other kids were better to stay in the clear for now, maybe helping out at the tavern should be enough for them, there is no need to get them into any kind of danger, they are barely adult anyways, at least in my world, as far as I can remember.

I don´t know how society is handling it here, but I heard that nobles have to participate in a coming-of-age-party, before they are accepted as an equal adult, and even then are there many circles in their society, which will still not accept them until a certain age has been reached.

If it's the same here, the Kids might not even be able to get a real salary, if they were to work at a different place, as mentioned before, here in the tavern we get a reduced price for our meals and for the stay, if we are helping the owner out.

Other than that, Harbor work or any Fighting related job, we had the option of becoming craftsmen as well, like smiths, carpenters and so on, well as I said, those aren´t really the kind of jobs I could fulfill all the requirements for, I am more for raw work I guess.

Working at one of the various stores around town might be an option, as it was a relatively easy job to do and in contrast to other workplaces, the Stores were all members of the merchant Guild, so salary regulations were provided by the same, giving everyone the same salary, depending on where or how hard the working individual has to actually work.

In the end there were many options we could choose from but it all had to do with our very own mentality, what we like to do and what we actually are capable of doing.

Still, if I were to become a Guardsman or a Soldier, then at the very least I could learn to defend people, to do something for others than myself.

If I was able to defend the my comrades against any danger, then my existence in this world had at the very least a meaning, at least for now.

While I was thinking about that, watching the sky over the town and the clouds passing by, I failed to notice a certain person sneaking up on me.

"Guess who I am?" a voice stated, as my eyes were blindfolded.

"If I were to guess…., by the ring of the voice, the small hands on my face, I think that it is safe to say, that you are Animarios." I stated and before my eyes, a pouting young boy appeared as my eyes were released from the darkness.

"You are no fun." He stated and I had to chuckle.

"Maybe so but I definitely am the one you can count onto for almost everything." I replied and I saw how, after a little tickling a bright smile appeared on the young boys face.

"Red, there you are, I thought I was late." I stated as I saw Elhize, Greyhound, Alpharia and Betakin appearing from the other side of the Market Place.

"Hey Guys, good to see you." I stated as I stood up and dusted off my pants.

"Well then guys, shall we?" I asked and they nodded while Animarios pulled me behind him, as we made our way towards our first stop.

After all, you gotta know your surroundings, when you arrive somewhere new, am i right?

_**A/N: Hello and welcome to a new Chapter of Sola to Romansu 2 chapter 3, the last Chapter i write for this year.**_

_** Once again I want to apologize for having, not really, neglected to write for my stories, but still I tried my best to handle Real life things, as well as writing on my stories.**_

_**Anyways, enough of all the wailing, I am certain that I will be able to work more on my new Stories, as well as finally ending the once whose Ends were still open so far in the next year.**_

_**Anyways, I wish you all a Happy New Year and good luck with your own stories or with finding new stories to read in the evening after a hard day of work.**_

_**Yours truly, the Storyteller and his Books.**_


	4. CH 4, The Market of Curiosities

**空とロマンス**

**Sola to Romansu (Sky and Romance)**

**Book 2:**

**Chronicles of the Scarlet Prince**

_**Chapter 4: The market of Curiosities **_

_**Streets of Altera Vita: Red´s Pov**_

"_H.T., just who is this person supposed to be, she seems to be important to me, otherwise I cannot think why I would hold on to this Ashen-crystal in the first place_." I wondered, as so often after finding this Heart-shaped crystal.

It surprised as well as confused me greatly, I found it after I checked my belongings yesterday in the cart, during our travel from the Plains of Rebirth to Altera Vita.

While we walked through the streets of the same now, I flipped the small heart in my hands, to see if perhaps something else was written on it, which I had yet to discover.

Useless to say that I didn´t find anything, after all I did that for the felt hundredth time already.

All I can think about is to whom these initials belong, it literally took my sleep yesterday.

Something in me said that this necklace was important, I would bet that this was such an artefact, the ones Ephilias talked about…., but if yes then I was hardly any smarter than before.

"_Maybe…, maybe it needs a trigger…, or perhaps it is linked towards another artefact, another memory which is crucial to me, in order to show the memories contained in this necklace_?" I wondered as I walked on, my body on autopilot, and my mind in deep thoughts, until it was ripped out of its trance, by mere words directed towards me.

"That's quite a nice necklace you got there Red, though I didn´t know you had a knack for such romantic stuff." Elh exclaimed while walking next to me and Animarios, who looked around in excitement and curiosity.

She had been occupied with investigating the rarities and goods displayed here on the market stalls, same as myself, but thanks to my mind being elsewhere I hardly got to that.

While I was deep in thoughts, I didn´t realize that she had been watching me for a while now, out of the corner of her eyes.

"Well considered what this necklace truly means, I think that this is the least bit of romantic I can allow myself to constantly be." I explained and she nodded.

"Well I guess so, I mean which man wouldn´t want to have a t least one constant reminder of belonging to his girlfriend?" Elh smirked teasingly, but I shook my head.

"I wouldn´t know, as I have no girlfriend I know of…, of course that can just mean that due to the memory-loss I don´t remember her, which is quite awful you know…., but still, I doubt that, after all, according to Ephilias is this here not a couple-symbol, but more a symbol of undying love to a deceased person.

And even if , H.T…., this could be anyone, it could be my Mother, my Sister, my Aunt or anyone else." I explained to her and she nodded in understanding, smiling a little less teasingly.

"I see.., though I think a heart is more a symbol for a female rather than a male." She replied with a blush in embarrassment and I nodded.

"There you're right, to be honest I have a feeling as though H.T. are the initials of a woman or a girl, but don´t ask me who that might be, as I said before, I have no idea who that person is…,and it drives me nuts not to know that, its like a thorn in my skin which I can´t get out.

I mean if I decide to leave the necklace in my room, I suddenly feel as though as if I have just committed a grave sin…., as if something prevents me from entirely forgetting this person…, as if this crystal itself wants to be a constant reminder of said person.

But more than that, I myself cannot bring it over me to leave this necklace for too long, who knows why…, maybe you are right and this did belong to my girlfriend, but if that is the case, than this must mean that said girlfriend has died.

All what remains are the memories of her and even those have been stolen from me." I explained and she nodded in shock.

"Now that you are saying, this truly is awful…, not to remember a dear person that has died, but constantly be reminded that said person did exist, it is beyond cruel.

I mean I have surely parents and grandparents, but since I have no memories nor any reminder of them yet, I can hardly say if I feel sad or not…, maybe just a little uneasy, but you are in an entirely different situation here…., times are cruel with us, aren´t they?" Elh explained and I nodded.

"They sure are…, I don´t wish to forget this H.T…., but I wish it would be less painful to think about her." I stated and she nodded in silence.

"Hey Elhize, come check out these accessories, they are so cute." We heard Alpharia shouting from a stall a bit apart from us, which seemed to sell some beauty accessories for women.

Shouting or talking loudly was something she rarely did, as far as I can tell from what I have seen so far….

Although she seemed quite reserved most of the time, did Alpharia really opened up to Elhize, even more than to her own brother, who was busy looking at the various weapons on display at another stall…., maybe it was because Elhize was not so different from her.

Or maybe because she was the only other girl in our group…, who knows.

While the girls got busy giggling and swooning over hairclips, earrings and the like, I took my time to ease my mind off of the uncertainty, of not knowing my past.

It was hard enough to live in the present as it is right now, so I had to look forward and once I got to that, I might have the time to look back and search for the past.

While I decide this for myself, I walked past the various stalls which were present today.

"Found something you like?" I asked as I walked up to Alpharia´s brother, Betakin Million, who still looked at the weapons with much interest.

"Well I guess so, I see so many swords here but hardly can tell which one is better suited for me to use someday, I mean, depending on what weapon you chose, the way you fight with it changes as well, at least that's what Cyan said.

A swift, small one like a Rapier, which is used to puncture your opponent, or one with more impact behind each swing, like a broadsword…, what do you think?" He asked me as I took a look at the weapons on display.

"I am probably the wrong one to ask that, but in my opinion, it depends on the way you are actually able to fight.

For example, if you are more the agile type of fighter, then a Rapier or a short-sword might be the best to use, as they require from their wielder full physical effort.

On the flip-side, a Rapier has nearly no real ability of parrying swords which are heavier than itself and you have to train with it to keep it steady in a battle as its weight is far less than that of a normal sword and so also harder to control during swift motions.

Broadswords or Long-swords on the other hand, have more force against a single opponent rather than an entire group, unless you are skilled enough…., also you can parry well with them.

However, they are just as hard to handle, if not even more with a broadsword, simply due to its own weight, they are supposed to be used two-handily after all.

Additionally, they are the worst choice to be used in confined space, so it would be wise to always have one or at least two side-weapons, like daggers or short-swords, with you, or even a small shield can come in handy in such times, remember that." I stated and Betakin´s eyes seemed to gleam with interest and admiration.

"You know so much." He stated and I blushed a little.

"I might have just remembered some of the things, which I heard people talking about, when we arrived at the tavern yesterday.

After all such gossip just might to prove to become valuable someday." I replied and he nodded.

"Still you should not forget that there are also other weapons, which are valuable in a battle." A voice stated from behind so suddenly, that I almost jumped back in surprise.

"Oh Greyhound its you, what are you sneaking up on us for?" I asked as my heart calmed down again, seriously, this guy had a talent to erase his presence, you wouldn´t believe it.

To be honest I almost forgot that he accompanied us all today.

"I wasn´t trying to though…., anyways, as I was saying, next to all the swords here on display, you should not forget about the value of Spears, Archery and Shields.

A spear is good for fighting a close opponent and still keeping him on safe distance, unless you fight against another spear wielder, then the skill and reaction time of both parties involved will determine who comes out of the fight victorious and moreover, alive.

Archers on the other hand have the greatest advantages in battle, as they can practically attack an opponent from wide distances, skilled archers are able to shoot an enemy soldier from almost a mile away.

Then again, once they are forced into close combat, an arrow is practically useless, and unless the bow is durable enough, it cannot even be used as a weapon, so it would be a good thing to also train for close combat if you decide to take that profession, just in case.

The shield…, well you can defend yourself and others with it, but you can also attack with them, you can for example swing the shield with tremendous force right into the approaching enemy, knocking him back and stunning him, maybe long enough so that either one of your comrades can defeat him, or you do so with a weapon of your own.

I heard there are also some shields which can cover almost the entire body, as well as having blades on their underside, so that if they are swung at someone, they can even cut up wounds in their enemies.

A skilled swing could slit the throat of any soldier." Greyhound explained.

As fascinating as it was to hear him talking about weapon, the mere thought of turning them against another man sounded quite gruesome.

Still, if this world is any bit as dangerous as Ephilias described, then I was sure that the day will come, in which we too had to kill other people in order to survive or defend someone, so much was clear to me and I doubt that the others would be oblivious about that fact, we all knew that…, it was just that none of us had the guts to say it out loud.

"Well that was informative, where did you learned all that?" I asked, unsure if I should really ask.

"I was listening to my surroundings as well…, and I may just have asked around on the weapon stalls and the blacksmiths, in order to decide which weapon I should master, once we decide to leave the village…, I want to be prepared as best as I probably can, to defend those in need…, this is probably all I can contribute to our groups, other than physical labor." He explained and I was buff.

"Well that's surprising, you really live for the future aren´t you?" I asked.

"Maybe…, but I just look at things in a way, where I tell myself, that the past will eventually reach back for me one of these days anyways, An therefor, for the time being, I will try to survive and live a safe future in this world as best as I possibly can, until the day that We all can return back to our homes." He explained and we nodded.

"Guess that possibly true for all of us, sure we need to find our memories back…, but if that is the only thing, we would do here, then why have we even entered the trial to lose them in the first place.

I kept thinking to myself yesterday evening…, what might have been the reason all of us went to this trial, I doubt that it was but a simple treasure of gold, diamonds and other gemstones…

I mean that wouldn´t make much sense, wouldn´t it…, considering the fact that there are children here, and I doubt all of us are in such a desperate need for riches and honor and the like, that we would like to deliberately lose our memories, our very own self, for it…

I have the feeling that this trial…, _**the Grand-Quest**_ of it, is something far more important than we all can imagine.

Something worth to send countless of wanderers to this world to obtain or fulfil it, from what Ephilias told us, these swords the kings used hundred years ago, are likely thousands of years old.

_**Ancient relics with incredible powers**_, so the saying.

If that is so, why weren´t they used for absolving that trial in all that time?" I asked.

"Maybe because no one really knows how to handle them properly." A new voice explained.

"What do you mean with that, Animarios?" I asked, as the young boy approached us.

"I actually asked the same question to Ephilias, he mused that the Kings must once have found the swords, most likely, but that none of them truly knew on how to use the swords immense power, how to really manifest them ad use them in a beneficial way, however the swords alone were strong enough to protect their bloodline for centuries after them.

So maybe it is not truly necessary to awaken their powers after all.

But if this Final Goal of the trials is something which only can be archived with _**the swords full power unlocked**_, it would make sense.

Also, if we are looking at it, we only know of _**four swords**_, which are in possession of _**the four Royal Houses around Altera Vita**_, however some of these swords look strikingly similar to some of the swords we possess…, so maybe, there are more swords out there.

I´ve asked Ephilias yesterday, but he also said that until now no one really ever arrived with such distinguished weapons in their possession right from the start…, he said that usually they would get some simple weapon, like they come in heaps.

No such valuable high-prized weapons.

As I asked him why some of our swords look similar to those ancient swords, he stated that he does not know the reason for that, that it never happened before…,

So I´ve been thinking…, what if similar to some of our memories, we took these weapons along with us…, from over there?" Animarios asked and I had no words to describe the unease this question suddenly rose in me.

"If that were the case, then what would happen if some of the swords we have, actually possess part of the power _**the Royal swords**_ have, if that were the case, then it would be no wonder that the swords never were able to unlock their full power, as they never had it in the first place." Animarios explained and I was astounded, that theory never even crossed my mind when I thought about the swords.

"If that is true…, then we might as well never absolve this trial, I mean, how would we even be able to obtain the royal swords, or at least the power within them?" I asked as I voiced my worries, and the solution to it was something I did not wanted to think about at all.

"_You mean we would have to steal them, if there was no other way_?" Betakin asked in a hushed voice with a shocked expression.

"_If we ever plan to leave this world, we might have to consider that, yes…, although that solution does not sit well with me either_." I explained and the dejection we felt was almost touchable.

"What are you guys talking about?" We were asked by the voice of Elhize.

"Something quite unpleasant…, but then again, the view I have right now makes me forget my depression instantly, you girls look very cute that way." I stated as an approving whistle left my lips, at the sight of them both.

The accessories the both had chosen, earrings, huge woven silk scarfs to be wrapped around the body, all of them were really accentuating their female side, even if Alpharia had something tomboyish to her.

Especially Elhize looked gorgeous with the new earrings, tiny amber books, which matched well to her own passion, books, I saw it yesterday already, that she loved to read..

"Oh, stop it you." They both stated in unison, blushing deep red, but smiling from ear to ear about my compliment.

"_**Smooth brother Red**_, _**really smooth**_." I heard Betakin mumbling.

"So, have you girls found anything interesting, aside from accessories?" I asked them, but all of the sudden they were looking aside blushing in embarrassment.

All I could do was sighing and with a playful smile I addressed them both.

"Now listen here ladies, wasn´t it our objective to look around the market place, to find anything which might help us in our future goals…, I can´t remember that we decided to go on a shopping tour, or am I wrong?" I asked them and they nodded slowly.

"I think we better break you girls up now, or else you will have bought up all accessories on the market by the time we finish our tour, what do you think, Betakin, care to accompany your sister and Greyhound around.

Elhize, Animarios, you guys come with me…., let´s see…, we will meet at the central Plaza in about 5 hours, that should give us enough time to also walk around the streets and the local stores of this quarter a bit, if that is okay with you guys?" I asked and the guys simply nodded.

The girls nodded as well, although a little reluctantly.

"Well then, onwards we go." I stated as I grabbed Elhize an Animarios hand without much thinking, and practically dragged them away.

.

.

.

"Say, Red, are you doing that deliberately or are you really so clueless?" Animarios asked me after a while of walking around.

"What do you mean with that?" I asked him, unsure of what he was talking about, as we just arrived at a stall which sold foreign spices.

I bet Aurelia would love to have some of them to spice up her dishes at the tavern, might as well show my appreciation for her and her father´s kindness and hard work and buy them some.

"I mean this." Animarios stated as he pointed behind me.

I looked only to see Elhize which blushed furiously, so much that she even trembled from overheating.

"What´s wrong Elhize, are you allr-…?" I asked, only to trail off, as I recognized that I was still holding her hand, I hadn´t let go of it ever since we left the others, which was almost half an hour ago.

No wonder that she felt embarrassed.

"Oh, i´m sorry, I didn´t meant to drag you around like this." I stated as I let her go.

"_T´was nothing…, it didn´t really bothered me_." Elh mumbled, looking aside in embarrassment, but also smiling awkwardly.

"I see…, if that is the case…., would you like to continue?" I asked, not sure what overcame me there.

"If you wish to, I have no objections." Elh replied and now even I had to blush.

I gently took her hand in mine and so we kept on walking around the huge market.

"You guys look like a fresh Couple, shortly after you confessed to each other." Animarios teased with a bright grin.

"I-is that so?" I asked not sure how to react to that…, but somehow the mere thought of it filled me with warm and fuzzy feelings.

"You think so?" Elh asked, still blushing furiously.

"Yes and I think it suits you." Animarios stated as he ran in front of us, turned around and took the sight of us in a hand-frame.

"Picture perfect, I would say, a young couple on a leisurely stroll through town, taking in the sights of the same." He stated with a bright smile.

"I see, but then, wouldn´t that include you as well…, I mean, you could be our child in that scenario, don´t you think so?

Some People I met here were saying that I look older than I might be." I stated with a grin and that definitely startled the little boy, as he began to blush.

"I doubt I would be looked at as a normal child, don´t you think so?" He stated with a rather uneasy expression on his face, followed by a strained smile.

"I don´t think so, you might be super smart and mature for your age, but to me you still are a little boy, someone I have a feeling that I must protect at all cost, and I gladly do so." I stated as I charged forward and picked him up by his waist with much ease, only to sit him down on my shoulders.

"Waaah, what are you doing?" He asked unsure, as he struggled to keep his balance, before he managed to grab on my forehead.

"See, from up there I am sure you have a far better view, maybe you spot something interesting." I stated grinning, while he blushed before smiling shyly.

Elhize looked at us with a blush and a radiant smile, a true and honest one, as if she observed something which made her really happy.

I recognized how some of the inhabitants that crossed our way, as well as some of the stall-owners looked at us with warm smiles of their own, genuine, benevolent and curious eyes followed us wherever we went.

I bet some of them just thought of us as a normal family taking a stroll through town while enjoying the first rays of the summer sun here in Altera vita.

While sitting on my shoulder, Animarios began to smile freely as well.

He might always act so mature, but in the end, he too was just a little kid that wanted to have fun.

Responsibility and destiny, that might be as it is for us, but for now we ought to enjoy the little time in peace we had…, something told me that we surely will have to soon step up our game, if we wanted any of our goals to be achieved.

_**Elh´s Pov:**_

I was genuinely happy for Red and Animarios to have fun together, they looked so good together, like father and son.

Seeing this sight somehow gave me a fuzzy feeling in my stomach, as if I longed for such a thing to become reality.

I wondered before, why I felt myself so drawn towards Red…, was it really love at first sight, simple admiration or affection…, maybe because he was the first to take the initiative to speak with me, he even helped me up from the ground as I woke up from my unconsciousness, as we all woke up on the plains of rebirth.

Then again, we might as well have had a close relationship in the world we came from.

Not that I would know, as these memories have been taken from us…, but somehow, I wished that to be the truth.

Somehow, even knowing that currently Red and I were but simple strangers, tossed together into an unknown world, I had a feeling that I could trust him, very much even.

I would follow him…, even if against all odds, he would end up with someone else out of our group, or even find a girlfriend among the locals here.

Although that thought displeased my heart, was I in no way allowed to force something to happen…, that would be the last I would do to him.

While I followed behind the two boys, I thought back at what Alpharia and I talked about as we looked at the accessories together.

_**Flashback:**_

"So…, you like Red, am I right?" Alpharia asked out of the blue, as we were busily checking out the accessories on display.

"Huh…, what are you saying?" I asked her in shock, I was so surprised by the question that I almost dropped the ring I held, much to the discontent of the Stall-owner.

"Well it is kinda obvious, I mean the way you look at him kinda gave it away." She stated as she inspected the earrings.

"Seriously, I don´t know what you are thinking but I am nowhere near such a possibility, sure Red is a good man, I admit, he is nice, kind, trustful and good with children." I stated.

"Not to mention that he´s handsome, strong and just has the aura of someone capable of keeping you safe, the aura of a prince or at least a noble warrior.

His smile is also radiant and truly confident." Alpharia replied.

"Aren´t you rather the one who likes Red that way?" I asked her unsure.

"I admit, I wouldn´t mind to get to know him a little closer, but I doubt that he sees more in me than a simple kid, who just happens to have ended up in the same place as him." Alpharia replied her ears flopping down.

"I hardly can deny that even…, as far as I can tell, I have no real qualities which would make me feminine in his eyes…., I cannot cook, I tried that yesterday…, I have not much of a fashion sense according to Terria.., hell there are so many earrings and necklaces here but I hardly can decide if any of them would even look good on me…, and I can hardly flirt with someone.

Sometimes I wish I was as confident as you." Alpharia stated unsure, looking down, trying to hide her unease.

"Confidence…, you might think that is what I possess, but you can hardly call it that way.

I just don´t really give much on my looks, sure I don´t want to look like a country-bumpkin out of the deepest boonies either, but I also don´t feel any real need on dressing myself up.

I am content with the way I look and anyone who wishes me to change, can just shove it there where the sun does not shine." I replied.

I got enough rude comments from some of the drunkards yesterday evening in the bar, they didn´t minced their words once they were plastered, even going as far as calling me boy or kid.

Once again it was Red who helped me out back then, telling them off as well as suggesting to get the opinion of their wives, whether I was a boy or a girl, if they could not behave enough to make a choice.

Having to face their wives with their drunken selves, sobered them right back up and they even apologized later on.

Such a few slaps with a slipper to the head seemed to work real wonders on them, at least back then.

To be honest, I asked myself what might become of me if Red wasn´t there to help me out, if I could not even defend my own self against a few drunkards, I doubt that I would be able to live long enough in this world.

I might have my bow and arrows but I was certain that not all situation, which I would encounter was to be approached with violence and weapons.

I wasn´t really a violent person to begin with, or at least I did not feel myself like such.

"Elh are you alright, you´ve been so silent?" Alpharia´s voice ripped me back out of my trail of thoughts.

"Yeah I´m alright, I just thought about some stuff…, anyways, how is it with your Brother, Betakin right?" I asked and she fell silent suddenly.

"I don´t know how to deal with him.

I mean he is nice and all, he also helps me out sometimes…, but it just doesn´t feel real…, I guess it is because we are so old already!" She stated and I looked at her in confusion.

"Old, but you hardly any older than 15-16 perhaps, am I right?" I asked her.

"Of course, I might have mis-phrased that, what I mean is that we have no real sibling-link together, we know that we are siblings but it is as though Betakin is a stranger to me…, if we were younger, we might wouldn´t have that problem, but as old as we are there is just so much which we have forgotten, about how we were raised together.

Who knows what for things have happened between us before, what if we hadn´t that much a good relation between us in the first place…, what if we hated each other's guts…, if we ever get our memories back…, what will happen between us if our relationship had been the complete opposite of what we might build up now.

If I would become his family…, I can hardly say that I would be ready to lose that again." Alpharia stated, as she laid the necklace which she held back on the table next to the other accessories.

"So you decide to not even try to become a family?" I asked and she nodded.

"I think this is the best for the both of us, at least for now, until we have a little more intel into our relationship as siblings…., do you think that is a mistake?" She asked but I shook my head in denial.

"I think this is probably the best way to approach the situation…, then again I hardly can imagine that Betakin would have hated you, I mean the two of you surely must have entered the trial together, don´t you think so too?" I asked and she nodded almost unnoticeable.

"I thought about that too…, either way the whole situation is confusing enough." She mumbled, her eyes dropping.

"Anyways, are you going to buy anything?" She asked, changing the topic rather quickly.

"Yeah, I like these earrings, I think I´m gonna buy them." I stated as I held up a pair of amber earrings in form of tiny books.

"How about you?" I asked.

"I think this one would look nice…, and maybe this one…., for him." She replied, still a little unsure, as she picked up her two choices.

Two necklaces, one with a tiny stone-carved shield and the other one with a sword out of similar material.

"Once I know where we stand, I might make it a gift to him." She stated with a little smile and a blush as she admired the sword.

"Yes do that, I bet he will be glad about it." I stated and she smiled shyly as her eyes fell upon her brother, who was busily looking at the weapons together with Red and Greyhound.

"_**Maybe…, maybe I should make a gift as well**_." I wondered as I looked over the things on display once more.

That's when I saw something catching my eye.

An emerald green sphere, it was an ordinary crystal ball to say the least, but something in it glimmered, barely there and yet unwilling to be extinguished.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?" I asked the jeweler.

"Sure, how may I help you Miss?" The old vendor asked.

"About this sphere, is it perhaps on sale?" I asked as I pointed at the same.

Although it was but a simple crystal sphere, something entirely ordinary, did I had a feeling as though the same was something different as it looked like.

"Sure, it is an item I found years ago during my travels in the Rubryxon kingdom, I have it ever since but never really found someone who was interested in buying it.

I have to warn you thought, if you think this is anything which might help you in certain areas, It has no real use whatsoever beside of its looks…, although it is a Crystal, does it not even store any energy, as far as I can tell, I tested that.

It might be decorative but the value is quite low so I let you make the price, but I still won´t go under 20 Copper hexes, that much this thing has to be worth at the very least." The Vendor explained and I nodded.

Fair enough, let´s say I make it 30 Copper Hexes." I stated and the Vendor looked in surprise.

"You are sure, as I said it isn´t really worth much, unless you have somewhere to put it where it can be a little decorative, at the very least." He replied again.

"Yeah but something tells me that this thing might be more than meets the eye." I replied and he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Suit yourself Miss, I am glad to finally find someone who is willing to purchase it, I always tell myself that every item in the world has someone it eventually belongs to." The man stated.

"I guess that might be true, anyways I take the sphere and these earrings please…, oh and if we are already at t, I would like this scarf as well, it looks really beautiful." I stated blushing a little and he nodded.

"You know what, I will give you 50% on the Scarf, due to buying this sphere, that will make 60 Copper Hexes then." He stated.

"Are you sure Elhize, I mean the vendor himself said that this sphere is basically useless." Alpharia asked.

"Yes, but as I said, something tells me that this sphere is different from all the other jewels on display here." I replied as I was about to pay.

"There are no refunds…., you are still sure about it?" The vendor asked before he accepted the money.

"Yes I am!" I stated with determination.

"As I said, suit yourself, Miss, and with this the sphere as well as the earrings and the scarf are now officially yours." He explained as he accepted the money and gave me the bag with my purchased items inside.

"Thank you very much." I replied and he nodded with a toothy grin, while Alpharia bought her accessories.

"Oh a nice Choice miss, these are the replicas of the old Royal Shield and sword of King Orpheus, it is said that with these weapons the Kings Bloodline defended his folk and kingdom for centuries, and although his folk survived, did it not helped him to keep himself alive.

But even with this tragic story, are both, sword and shield a symbol of strength and willpower and the willingness to sacrifice one's own life for the sake of others.

Usually it is custom that the man wields the sword, as a meaning to fight and defend his family against any aggressors.

While the woman keeps the shield, as a matter of protection against anyone, that manages to get past the sword of the man.

Together they symbolize the ultimate defense to protect our young future citizens, the hopes of our Kingdom, our Children." The vendor explained.

"I bet your boyfriend will be joyful to be gifted with something like that." He smiled a simple benevolent grin, while I could see how Alpharia practically screamed inertly, she blushed deep red at the mention of a possible boyfriend.

"It´s for my Brother." She mentioned shyly and the face of the Vendor fell.

"I´m so sorry, it was not my intention to embarrass you, please accept my sincere apology." He stated as he bowed down deeply.

"It is nothing, no need to bow." Alpharia replied, and hurriedly payed for the two necklaces and practically fled from the scene.

"Do we really look like lover´s together?" She asked unsure.

"No, I think that man just thought that a beautiful girl like you must surely have a boyfriend." I stated.

"_Beautiful…, Me…, I rather doubt that_." Alpharia stated, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"_You should really learn to love yourself a little more, Alpharia_." I thought as we approached the boys.

"You´re still sure about giving this sphere to Red?

I mean not even the Vendor knew what the deal with is was, and I doubt that Red has any use for big jewels, even if they are a gift, wouldn´t you agree?" Alpharia mused, her mine once more clouded by uncertainty and unease.

"No fear, I am certain of this, he will like it." I stated with confidence.

Confidence which I had no real idea where she came from.

_**Flashback end:**_

_**Red´s Pov:**_

I was buff to say the least.

Astounded and flabbergasted upon the scene which unfolded itself infront of me right now.

"I bought this for you as a gift, Red, I hope you can use it somehow." Elhize explained as she gave me the small box, which she had bought at the jeweler's stall.

"Th-thanks a lot…, but I wasn´t prepared to be gifted something, I unfortunately have nothing in return, at least not yet." I stated unsure.

Why was she giving me something in the first place, I mean we barely know each other, but furthermore, why only me?

"It´s fine, I kind of bought this on a whim, so I don´t really need something in return." Elhize explained cheerfully and in her eyes, I found no trace of a lie, nor any hidden ulterior motive.

Usually when a woman suddenly gives you a present, it is because they expect something in return, either something valuable or some kind of assistance with something, instantly or in near future.

Even if I was wary of simply accepting this gift, was I just as curious as to what was inside.

"I thank you honestly…, although I still have no clue with what I deserved this gift." I stated as I looked at her with curiosity.

"Let´s just say it is as thanks for keeping us all safe and sound so far." She stated but that just confused me even more.

"I hardly did anything, not that we really encountered much danger, ever since we landed here, at least not yet." I replied.

"Geez, good Lord, Red, is it so hard to simply accept something given to you, I told you I need nothing in return, it was bought on a whim by me." Elhize replied, getting slightly annoyed by my uncertainty of accepting her surely carefully chosen gift.

"Red, just accept it." Animarios stated, while he happily stuffed his face with the icecream I bought before.

"Yes, thanks a lot Elh." I stated and although my mind was still unsure about it, I ordered my hands to accept the gift offered to me.

"May I..., may I unwrap it?" I asked and she nodded eagerly.

I did as I intended, only to be left even more confused.

Within the box, all I could see was an emerald green sphere, almost the size of my fist, although i had no clue if this was supposed to be a giant jewel or something along that.

"She´s beautiful." I stated and that was mostly all I could say about it, of course the sphere surely had some major decorative prowess…, but I still was left unclear about why or what exactly I was looking at.

"Hmm, strange..., somehow…., I feel as though I have seen something like that before …, yeah didn´t Helena once showed me something like this?

I think she said these were so called _**Mind-spheres**_.

A spherical device which allows, after a certain procedure, a dying mind to be preserved for the future, its development halted at the time of the extraction.

Like a program in a computer which is moved from the local storage to another Hard-disc.

Should ever a suitable new body be cloned out of the gene-material of the patient, which is either young or free from the sicknesses the original suffered from, it would theoretically be possible to re-install the Mind into said new body, effectively reviving a dead person.

Of course, such a medical action is looked at as extremely unethical.

After the publishing of this theory the professor who did it was shunned by the various religious temples on Shangri-La and even received some death-threats from some fanatics.

But Helena also said that the chances of such an extraction to be successful lied in the lower 5% area, so she doubted that it ever would succeed in the first place, after all the mind would need a body which is similiar to the original, preferably identical.

Helena explained to me, that the mind might even fight against the extraction in the first place, which would result in the death of the patient, therefore the praxis was hardly ever tested." I explained and Elh looked in shock about what i told her.

"Is something like that even possible?" Elh wondered sightly terrified by the mere idea.

"According to Helena it might be, but only with a lot of high-technology equipment and a good portion of luck." I replied.

"Alright, let´s say it is possible as you assume, may I then ask you something Red, two significant Questions?" She asked.

"Sure, fire away." I replied.

"If such, what you just said, is true…, then whose mind do you think is momentarily resting within this sphere?" Elh asked.

"I´m not sure, As I said, Helena never really was certain that such a theory was possibly able to be executed and even if, who would be so nuts as allowing himself to undergo such a procedure, in that regard me and Helena came to a mutual point.

Only someone entirely desperate and with nothing to lose would do such a thing, either that or it is someone, who can only be saved like this, in that view we were certain." I explained and she nodded.

"So that was the first Question, what is the second?" I asked, eager to go on with talking.

**_Ehl's Pov_**:

This was crazy, how lucky could i get, could it really be that this was what i thought it was...

„Ehlize, your okay...?" Red asked me worried as he looked at me, i recognized that my pulse was racing, my breath became painful in my lungs, as i was holding it in.

With a long sigh, trying to calm myself down, i released it and it felt as though some shackles fell off of me.

Better said of the part of my mind which was anxious, unveliving and unnaccepting of mine and everyones situation, that part which asked itself desperately if we ever would find a way home, here in a vast world in a place we were completely unfamilliar with.

"Well…, I don´t really know how to ask, or if it might not be assuming something wrong, and that you mean something different..., but the question I wish for you to answer is quite simple as well as it is hard for me to accept the fact i am even asking it now..., or better said so early...

You explained what this sphere truly is, you explained what it possibly contains, but in all this story there is one queston I keep on asking myself, ever since you started to tell?" I stated and I prepared myself for something, which I had no real idea what it was.

It was hard to describe this emotion i currently felt.

It was a mixture out of anxiety, disbelive, angst and a portion of hope.

"As I said before, fire away." Red stated still curious, though i thought to hear the slight unease creeping in his voice as an undertone.

"Red, please answer me truthfully, and without lying…, answer me as though I would ask you where the jam in the kitchen stands." I stated.

"In the fridge I assume…., what do you think about, Elh..., where are you getting at with your mind and what has you so afraid, that you are almost about to cry and shout in terror?" He asked me, as I recognized, that I began to tremble uncontrollably as the entire story began to sink in.

I was observed by the curious Eyes of Animarios and Red´s, my eyes fell onto the Green Sphere in his hand, and I suddenly imagined it to turn into an emerald green skull…, next to a devastating thought which nested itself in my heart.

"Red…, who and where is Helena?"

_**To be continued….**_

_**A/N: Hello, the Storyteller is here and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.**_

_**We already have covered now the first four chapters of the Second Book and to keep you begging for more, I will stop here and keep on writing on the side stories and the last few chapters to the first book, before continuing.**_

_**After all, some of the references which will come in later chapters, refer right to certain events, which have happened in the first Book´s climax.**_

_**I hope you are still of good health, so far, I still am.**_

_**I also hope you all stay safely at home and spent the time with reading my stories, for that I want to thank all of my readers and supporters.**_

_**Thank you all very much, sincerely, yours truly, the Storyteller and his Books.**_


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